ALBUQUERQUE, NM – A 49-year-old Albuquerque man faces first-degree murder charges after authorities discovered his mother’s dismembered remains in a kitchen freezer, capping a weeks-long investigation that began when family members reported her missing.
Leroy Vallejos was arrested Wednesday and booked into Metro Detention Center following the discovery of the remains at his residence. He is charged with first-degree murder, preventative detention, temporary detention with evidence, and battery.
The victim, 69-year-old Ernestina Lucero, was reported missing by family members on October 23. Albuquerque Police Department issued a missing persons bulletin, but Vallejos had told relatives he hadn’t seen his mother in more than a week.
Officers conducted a welfare check at Vallejos’s residence after he told a home health care provider about his mother’s unexplained absence. During the search, investigators found several items that contradicted his claim that Lucero had traveled to Mexico.
Police discovered Lucero’s prescription medications in her bedroom, raising immediate suspicions about Vallejos’s account of her whereabouts. A more thorough search of the home led to the grim discovery of garbage bags containing human remains in a large kitchen freezer. The remains were later confirmed to be female.
Investigators also found a saw with dried bloodstains concealed beneath the kitchen sink, according to court documents.
During questioning, Vallejos reportedly confessed to strangling his mother approximately three weeks before his arrest. According to the arrest affidavit, he made disturbing statements claiming Lucero was “part of a group of people giving their lives to darkness” and that he believed he had been “promised to Satan” by his mother.
Court documents reveal that Vallejos had used his mother’s debit card and sold her vehicle prior to her being officially reported missing by other family members. These actions helped sustain the illusion that she was still alive and possibly traveling.
The investigation remains active as authorities piece together the timeline of events leading to Lucero’s death. A detention hearing is scheduled for November 4, where prosecutors will argue for Vallejos to remain in custody pending trial.
The case has shocked the Albuquerque community, particularly given the gruesome nature of the crime and the suspect’s apparent efforts to conceal the murder while continuing to access his mother’s financial resources.
