24-Year-Old Man Indicted After Allegedly Fatally Shooting His Parents, Sister and Family Dog Then Plotting to ‘Bury Them’

A 24-year-old man has been indicted on multiple counts of murder after he allegedly shot and killed his family in their New Mexico home.

On Thursday, July 10, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced in a news release shared on Facebook that a grand jury indicted Adlai Mestre in connection with the fatal shooting of his mother, Bertha Huerta Conde, his father, Raymundo Mestre, his 17-year-old sister, Brielle and their family dog at their Tijeras home on Oct. 13, 2024.

Following the shooting, Mestre allegedly “dragged the victims’ bodies outside, intending to bury them, and made an effort to clean up the crime scene,” Bregman said, per the release.

The 24-year-old has been indicted on three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of tampering with evidence, and one count of animal cruelty in connection with the incident.

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According to court documents obtained by the Miami Herald, on the day of the shooting, police received a call from a man of “gunshots coming from the [family] home.” The man had tried to contact the family, but they didn’t respond.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Mestre outside, holding a gun and a loaded magazine.

“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 killed them,” Mestre allegedly told officers, per KRQE. “However, I found their bodies and their wounds were healed.” 

He was detained as the family home was searched. 

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In video footage obtained by KOB 4, Mestre is seen emerging from his home as deputies arrive and he is handcuffed. The deputies then enter the property, where they find a knife on the floor by the front door and “trails of blood everywhere.”

Deputies also found a hammer and meat tenderizer covered with blood near the front door, per the Miami Herald. They went on to discover the bodies of Mestre’s parents and sister “in a ravine near the home,” according to the outlet.

While detained, Mestre allegedly told officers, “I killed them and was going to bury them,” according to the Miami Herald. Deputies found “blood transfer patterns consistent with drag marks and mopping/cleaning” inside the home.

According to the outlet, the suspect attempted to escape and “kicked a hole in the wall of the room in which he was being detained,” though he failed. 

Mestre’s indictment comes after he was initially deemed incompetent to stand trial by a judge in April. By June, however, he was deemed competent, per KRQE.