Murder Victim Found Near Anthony Was Looking To ‘Start Over’ In California
By ABC-7 Reporter Daniel Marin
ANTHONY, NM – “He was hilarious, very gentle and loving. He was my baby brother.”
The words of Genevieve Engelbrecht of Oceanside, California. She was expecting her 20-year-old brother, Adam Espinoza, to be settling in with her right about now. Instead, she’s dealing with this murder.
“He was just going to come live with me,” she told reporters. “He was going to get a job.”
Espinoza, who did a stint at Baylor University, left his hometown of San Antonio on January 5th en route to California. But he’d only make it as far as Highway 404, just east of Anthony, New Mexico. Four days later on January 9th, hikers found his body in the trunk of his burned-out Mitsubishi.
According to his ‘Facebook’ profile, Espinoza loved musicals, including “Nine” and “wicked.” Also on his profile: messages that would turn out to be his last.
On January 4th – the day before his trip – Espinoza wrote, “To my good friend California: I will be there to see you soon! Tomorrow as a matter of fact! I hope that you are ready for me!”
And to his friends in San Antonio, “Thank ya’ll for being there for me this past month! I know I was a little bit of a downer…Alas, I am ready to start over with a clean slate.
New Mexico investigators have yet to name a suspect in Espinoza’s murder. His body is with the medical examiner in Albuquerque. They say an official cause of death won’t be in for a few weeks.
