Two men have been arrested after allegedly killing their Army veteran roommate, dismembering him and scattering his body parts along a New Mexico highway.
Rainor Joiner, 23, and David Degroat, 22, both originally from Georgia, are accused of killing their roommate, 25-year-old West Virginia native Matthew McLaughlin, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office said. Joiner and Degroat have been charged with first-degree murder and other related felonies.
“I did it, I f****** him, and I don’t f****** regret it,” one of the suspects reportedly told cops after the killing, according to local outlet KOB.
The three men met while serving in the same unit of the Army at Fort Benning, Georgia. However, authorities say Joiner and Degroat allegedly had active warrants for desertion from the Army.
After McLaughlin was reported missing on July 31, authorities obtained a search warrant for his home and detained his roommates for questioning.
Authorities say Joiner confessed to deputies that he shot McLaughlin with Degroat’s help.
Joiner claimed that they dismembered McLaughlin’s body and tossed bags containing his remains along U.S. Highway 64, near Tres Piedras, about 80 miles north of Santa Fe. The human remains were positively identified as McLaughlin.
After confessing, Joiner told authorities he planned to kill Mclaughlin because he had been spreading rumors about him, using drugs, and bringing strangers into their home, according to court documents obtained by KOAT.
Joiner said he and Degroat ambushed McLaughlin, and authorities believe the shooting happened on July 25.
"[Joiner] admitted he shot the individual with a rifle and then again with a pistol then subsequent days later he continued to dismember the victim," Taos County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Gabriel Ortiz said.
"The individual was very much non-remorseful. No emotions, just a kind of blank face and told them [deputies] exactly what he did and didn't have any emotions at all."
Degroat told investigators that Joiner shot McLaughlin three times before dismembering his body. He then forced Degroat to hold open a bag as he put the body parts inside, KOB4 reported.
Friends and loved ones of McLaughlin described him as a “sweet, kind person,” whose murder “doesn’t make sense.”
They said police told them they believed the killing was premeditated weeks in advance, according to KOB4.
