‘Had to do it’: Las Cruces man accused of using sword to slay neighbor by trying to cut head off
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- A Las Cruces man is suspected of using a sword to kill his neighbor, telling other neighbors afterward that he "had to do it," authorities said Thursday.
Arturo Francisco Quintana, 31, is charged with first-degree felony murder in the death of 33-year-old Efren Valdez Gutierrez. He was being held without bond Thursday in the Dona Ana County Detention Center.
Police said the slaying occurred late Wednesday night at the Mesilla Manor Apartments at 1101 E. Boutz Road, where authorities were called after Gutierrez was heard yelling for help.
When officers arrived, they said they found Gutierrez dead in his apartment from a severe neck injury with a large sword laying nearby.
Prior to the killing, a witness told police that Quintana "appeared upset" and she had seen him swinging the sword at Gutierrez.
Neighbors later heard a disturbance coming from Gutierrez’s apartment and called 911, police said. Those same neighbors told investigators that they saw Quintana flee the apartment while proclaiming that he “had to do it.”
Officers said they found Quintana and arrested him a short time later. A police affidavit obtained by ABC-7 indicated that Quintana later confessed to the killing, saying he wanted to cut Gutierrez’s head off.
