Before the out-of-town family arrived at his home to celebrate Thanksgiving, an elderly man with dementia allegedly killed, dismembered and disembowelled his wife.
The horrifying discovery was made when relatives of Karlan and Connie Denio were unable to enter the couple’s Albuquerque home Thursday afternoon when no one answered the door.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Karlan Denio, 62, was found lying in bed while his wife, Connie, was found dismembered and disemboweled on the bedroom floor.
It was Connie’s plan to have relatives arrive around 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving day after discussing the plans in detail the night before in a family chat.
However, when the family arrived that afternoon, they could not enter the house.
After knocks on the door went unanswered, Karlan’s brother and sister contacted the police to request a welfare check. Dispatchers told them they couldn’t force their way into the house, so the family had to find their own entrance.
They knocked on every door and window and eventually removed the hinges from an entrance to get inside.
In the minutes following the relatives’ arrival, another 911 call reported that Karlan had allegedly murdered his wife.
According to authorities, officers found Connie’s body “dismembered and disemboweled” at the grisly scene. After detaining Karlan, officials found that he had cuts on his leg and neck.
Karlan’s sister told police that the house had been dark when the siblings entered and found Karlan “lying on the bed” with his wife lying on the floor.
“When Karlan looked at his sister, she backed out of the house and called police again,” according to the complaint.
Rick Cordova, who has lived next to the Denios for two decades, described them as “nice folks” who he would “least expect” to witness such a tragedy.
A murder charge has been filed against Denio for the death of his wife. Police said he is recovering from lacerations to his arm and neck in the hospital.