Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife near Alamogordo

ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico (KVIA) -- A jury convicted Shaun Lefleur, 56, of murdering his wife in 2024. He received a life sentence, officials say.

New Mexico State Police in Alamogordo received reports of a homicide on April 21, 2024. Officers found Arkansas resident Nancy Lefleur, 67, in a shallow grave in the desert area near Oliver Lee State Park, south of Alamogordo.

They exhumed Nancy Lefleur's body. It then underwent an autopsy, which found Nancy died from two gunshot wounds to the head.

"During the extensive investigation and after multiple interviews, Shaun Lefleur, husband to Nancy, was charged with First Degree Murder and Tampering with Evidence," NMSP officials explain. "Lefleur was later arrested on April 25, 2024, near Cloudcroft, New Mexico."

At the end of the four-day trial that followed, the jury found Shaun Lefleur guilty of First-Degree Murder and Evidence Tampering.

"Following the guilty verdict, Lefleur was sentenced to life in prison," NMSP officials say.