Las Cruces man beaten to death, found wrapped in roll of carpet

A Las Cruces man who was beaten with a bat and later died was found wrapped in a roll of carpet Wednesday morning, police said.

Police were called to the home of 37-year-old Jerome Saiz about 3 a.m. in the 2000 block of Princess Jeanne Drive in Las Cruces, and found him wrapped up in a roll of carpet. Officers unrolled carpet and found that Saiz had severe injuries to his face and head. He was taken Mountain View Regional Medical Center, where he died of possible blunt force trauma to his face and head.

Police said Saiz had returned from a friend’s house, and about an hour later, that friend received call from Saiz. The friend said he overheard a woman screaming and what sounded like a violent struggle on the line and called police to Saiz’s home.

When officers arrived, they spotted Saiz’s girlfriend, 28-year-old Rebecca M. Gomez inside a car parked in the driveway. She told officers there was no one else in the home, but they were met by 27-year-old Leonard Espinosa Telles at the door.

Investigators say Saiz and Gomez were arguing when Espinosa struck Saiz with a baseball bat multiple times. Investigators say Gomez, the girlfriend, incited incited Espinosa to continue bludgeoning Saiz until he lost consciousness.

Gomez and Espinosa were both charged with murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. They were booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center with cash-only bonds set at $500,000 each.

Investigators also learned that Gomez’s two daughters, ages 6 and 7, were inside the home the whole time, but were not hurt. The girls were turned over to the custody of another family member.