Man with dementia accused of murdering wife

By KOAT Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — What was supposed to be a Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday turned to horror upon the arrival of the first guests, who discovered that their brother had apparently killed his wife — and, they later learned, had apparently dismembered her body as well.

According to the criminal complaint, Tami Pacheco first called the Albuquerque Police Department after another brother, Darin Denio, called her to say he got no answer at the door. He had just arrived from out of town for Thanksgiving dinner with their brother Karlan Denio and his wife, Connie.

Darin went to pick up Tami, and after they returned, they were able to get into the house through the garage. There they found Karlan Denio, who had been diagnosed with dementia two years earlier, lying in bed, with Connie on the floor nearby, deceased.

Albuquerque police were called to the home on Vista Del Sol Drive NW around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, where they discovered that her body had also been dismembered and disemboweled. There was blood just inside the door from the garage, but no signs that anything had been taken or tampered with.

Karlan Denio was arrested for murder at the scene, taken into custody and transported to the hospital with lacerations on his leg and neck.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.