Landlord Murders Evicted Tenant, Dumps Body in East Mountains

Albuquerque –

Yesterday afternoon, we reported about a homicide on Aztec Rd. NW. APD tells us that their investigators with APD’s Homicide in conjunction with their Digital Intelligence units worked diligently through the night to track down the location of a murder victims body who was taken to the East Mountains the night before and dumped.

The victim’s body was located early this morning on Route 66 just west of Sedillo Hill. The victim’s name is not being released to the public until family members are notified about his murder.

APD goes on to say that their detectives arrested Derek DePalma, 40, on Wednesday for beating the murder victim with a wooden object during the overnight hours of June 17-18 in the middle of the street on the 200 block of Aztec Rd. N.W. A video showed a man, later determined to be DePalma, walking around the victim’s truck on June 18 at 12:45 a.m. as two “thuds” can be heard. DePalma was then seen moving erratically around a motionless body in the street.

The video also showed DePalma walk from the street to his residence at 529 Aztec Rd. At 12:51AM, DePalma then backed his red pickup out of his driveway and drove to the spot near where the lifeless body lay. The video showed DePalma exit his truck, drag the body toward the back of the truck, open the tailgate, and load the body into the bed of the truck. The truck then left eastbound on Aztec.

DePalma’s girlfriend cooperated with police and told detectives the murder victim was recently evicted from a home they rented to him. She said the victim was harassing DePalma and herself during the day of June 17.

When detectives first started investigating the incident on Wednesday, they obtained a search warrant for DePalma’s property and next to his red pickup they located several small pieces of wood with blood on them. 

APD’s Real Time Crime Center captured images of the truck from various traffic cameras at Candelaria Rd. and 12th St. shortly after it left the area of Aztec Rd. Detectives later obtained DePalma’s cell phone number and records that showed he traveled east on I-40 toward Cedar Crest after leaving the scene on Aztec.

Digital Intelligence investigators used information from phones to get a more precise location of where DePalma may have taken the victim’s body. Investigators located the body this morning as the sun rose.

DePalma was arrested late on Wednesday and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and first degree kidnapping. Detectives are working with the District Attorney’s Office to modify the charges.