The sound of gunshots in a New Mexico neighborhood led deputies to find a young man covered in blood.
After violently ending the lives of his family members, Adlai Mestre, 24, was seemingly in the middle of burying his victims’ bodies when deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call.
“I k*lled them and was going to bury them,” he confessed to one deputy at his Tijeras home.
The sound of gunshots in a New Mexico neighborhood led to deputies finding a young man covered in blood
Trigger warning: This article contains details of violence that may be distressing to some.
Adlai is currently facing charges for the tragic shooting of his mother Bertha Huerta Conde, 51, his father Raymundo Mestre, 46, his 17-year-old sister Brielle, and their family dog.
The suspect was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial by the court in April, but a reassessment last month led to a judge declaring him fit to stand trial.
He was indicted last week for a number of charges.
The heinous crime allegedly unfolded in October last week.
The landlord called 911 after hearing g*nshots coming from the family’s residence. He told deputies that he tried contacting the family but couldn’t reach them.
Adlai Mestre, 24, is facing charges after his lifeless parents and sister were found facedown in a ravine
Deputies arrived at the residence to find Adlai with blood on his hands, shirt, and shoes.
“How are you doing, sir?” a deputy reportedly said from the front door.
“My family rushed me,” Adlai responded.
“Rushed you where?” asked the deputy.
“In my room … With a knife,” responded the accused son, who had a handgun on him during the exchange.
“You want me to show you?” the suspect told responding deputies about his family’s bodies
Adlai was seen confessing to the crime in the deputies’ body camera footage.
“My family’s trying to walk in my room, trying to hit my heart, and my dad had a knife, and my sister had a sledgehammer and I k*lled them,” he allegedly told officers.
“However, I found their bodies and their wounds were healed. You want me to show you?”
“Please don’t k*ll me officer,” he later said.
The suspect willingly took the deputies to the location of his victims’ bodies.
They found Bertha, Raymundo, and Breille facedown in a ravine about 50 yards (150 feet) from the house.
Deputies are believed to have interrupted Adlai as he attempted to dispose of evidence and clean up the house
Investigators believe the young man shot the victims using his mother’s weapon.
Upon searching the house, they found “blood transfer patterns consistent with drag marks and mopping/cleaning.”
Adlai allegedly took his father’s life in the family’s living room and then targeted his mother as she came down the stairs. The circumstances surrounding his sister’s slaying is unclear.
He also claimed he shot their dog for being “ravenous.”
After the triple homicide, Adlai “dragged the victims’ bodies outside, intending to bury them, and made an effort to clean up the crime scene,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement last week.
The victims sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were “likely bludgeoned with a meat tenderizer,” officials said.
The accused son was captured kicking down the drywall and escaping from the interrogation room
When the suspect was taken into custody, he tried to escape while authorities briefly left him unattended in an interrogation room.
He was captured kicking a hole through the drywall and making a run for it. But officials quickly captured and detained him.
During the interrogation, Adlai was asked if he had any mental health issues.
“I’m cursed and my family’s cursed. Write that down, that my family’s all cursed,” he responded.
He was also filmed having conversations with people who weren’t in the interrogation room with him when he was left alone.
“I just tried to k*ll you,” he was captured saying before begging God for help.
“Angel, unlock the door!” he cried.
“I’m cursed and my family’s cursed. Write that down, that my family’s all cursed,” the alleged shooter said during the interrogation
A judge ruled in April that he was a disturbed man with a history of mental illnesses. He was deemed incompetent to stand for trial.
However, his trial is now expected to take place as the decision was reversed in June.
Netizens are divided over the mental health angle of this case
