UNM Student Turns Into Serial Killer, 2nd Murder Charge Filed

Albuquerque –

A 20-year-old former University of New Mexico student already jailed in a fatal shooting has been charged with the stabbing death of a homeless man after an APD detective connected him to surveillance footage of the earlier crime, police said.

Jaylen Hopewell faces charges of open murder, robbery, and tampering with evidence in the March 20 killing of 47-year-old Genovevo Rodriguez-Resendiz outside a downtown church.

Hopewell, a student who previously lived in a University of New Mexico dorm, was already being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center for his alleged role in the May 13 shooting death of Eden Rock, 23, behind the Frontier Restaurant, located off Central Ave and Cornell Dr. SE.

APD got their break in the stabbing case in mid-May, when an APD homicide detective interviewed Hopewell about the deadly Frontier shooting. The detective noticed Hopewell’s strong resemblance to a suspect captured on surveillance video fleeing the scene of the church stabbing from March 20. When APD investigators showed Hopewell a still image from the footage, he became visibly nervous, taking “pronounced gulps” and struggling to answer additional questions, according to a criminal complaint.

Rodriguez-Resendiz was discovered dead on the porch of the First Presbyterian Church, located at 215 Locust St NE, on March 20. During an autopsy, the Office of the Medical Investigator determined Rodriguez-Resendiz sustained multiple sharp force injuries, including defensive wounds and a severe stab wound that severed his windpipe and carotid artery.

Detectives learned from Rodriguez-Resendiz’s next of kin that he had a cell phone, which he was also seen holding in surveillance footage near the First Presbyterian Church. However, Rodriguez-Resendiz’s phone was reportedly neither found on him nor at the crime scene. The criminal complaint alleges Hopewell stole the victim’s cell phone. Additionally, digital location data from Hopewell’s phone indicated that he was at the scene when the victim’s phone went offline.

A subsequent search of Hopewell’s university dorm room uncovered disturbing handwritten notes. The criminal complaint reveals that torn notebook pages detailed the anatomy of the human throat, the force required to break various bones, “how long does it take to bleed out,” and the mechanics of handheld strangulation devices.

Detectives also reviewed Hopewell’s internet search history, which included queries for “dagger and knife analysis,”
anatomy of the throat, “psychopath vs sociopath,” information on various serial killers, “Fbi serial killer list,” and “what is the Albuquerque solve rate.” The complaint states his online digital search records show he searched for Albuquerque police scanner audio just hours before the victim’s body was discovered, and repeatedly looked up news articles about the killing in the days that followed.

The case that first landed Hopewell behind bars stems from the May 13 shooting death of Eden Rock. Hopewell is one of five people charged in the killing. According to APD, the attack was a premeditated ambush stemming from an ongoing feud between the victim, Eden Rock, and another suspect, Tenard Weekly. Investigators allege Rock was lured into an alleyway near the Frontier Restaurant on Wednesday, May 13, where four men charged him from behind a dumpster. Weekly allegedly shot Rock twice before the group fled in a Jeep Cherokee, which detectives later tracked to a nearby apartment complex using automated license plate readers. Those charged in the May case are Tenard Weekly (12/29/2005), Evan Rogers (3/3/2006), Junior Lewis (9/29/2006), and Jaylen Hopewell (10/27/2005). The fifth person charged was not named by APD.

We asked APD whether Hopewell is a suspect in any other open homicide investigations in light of investigators’ findings regarding his handwritten notes and internet search history. As of publication, the department had not responded to the request for comment.