A homeless man allegedly decapitated an acquaintance at a park and then played soccer with his head. Joel Arciniega-Saenz, 25, was arrested without incident and confessed to killing James Garcia, 51, at Apodaca Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Police responded to the park on Sunday on reports of a body in the road and found Arciniega-Saenz with a knife and dried blood on his hands, according to KFOX. Garcia was decapitated and had multiple stab wounds. His severed finger was surrounded by blood and near a bloody footprint.
Arciniega-Saenz apparently told police that he, Garcia and Garcia’s wife had spent time together four days before the attack. The suspect claimed that he fell asleep and that he and Garcia’s wife woke up to discover that Garcia had disappeared with items belonging to them.
At the park, Arciniega-Saenz confronted Garcia and took a switchblade from him, which he used to stab him a few times. Arciniega-Saenz proceeded to drag Garcia’s body to the street and ‘then played soccer with his head’, according to court documents obtained by KTSM. Arciniega-Saenz said that he kicked the head toward 14 different vehicles.
Arciniega-Saenz admitted that he killed Garcia as retaliation for allegedly raping his wife four years ago, according to a statement cited by KTSM. Arciniega-Saenz was charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond at Doña Ana County Detention Center.
He has a criminal history that includes an arrest in April for allegedly vandalizing a coffee shop in Las Cruces, but he was released on a $2,000 bond.
Additionally, in 2017, Arciniega-Saenz allegedly fatally shot Benjamin Montoya, 21, at a Las Cruces motel. Arciniega-Saenz was charged with Montoya’s murder but it was dismissed in 2018 after a key witness was found to have a gun that matched the caliber of the one used to kill Montoya.
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