It was 3:30 in the morning when the silence of a rural Belen neighborhood shattered. Not from a gunshot—those had already happened—but from a phone call. A 16-year-old boy was on the line with 911 dispatchers. He was drunk. He was crying. And he was confessing to something that most people can't even wrap their heads around. Diego Leyva New Mexico became a name synonymous with a level of local tragedy that feels like a weight you can't quite lift.
Honestly, when news like this breaks in a small town, everything stops. Belen isn't exactly a metropolis. It's the kind of place where people know the volunteer firefighters and the kids in the high school band. So, when the New Mexico State Police released the details of what happened on Camino Escondido, the shock didn't just ripple; it leveled the community.
What Really Happened in Belen?
The facts are as cold as the December air in which they unfolded. On December 14, 2024, Diego Leyva allegedly took a handgun and killed his entire immediate family. We aren't talking about a distant dispute. We are talking about his parents and his two brothers.
When deputies from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office pulled up to the house, they didn't have to kick down doors. Diego walked out. Hands up.
He was "extremely intoxicated," according to the official police reports. Imagine the scene: a teenager, barely old enough to drive, stumbling out into the flashing red and blue lights after having just ended the lives of the people who raised him.
The Victims of the Camino Escondido Shooting
It is easy to focus on the perpetrator, but the loss here is staggering. The victims weren't just names on a police blotter.
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- Leonardo Leyva, 42: Diego’s father.
- Adriana Bencomo, 35: His mother, who was a known figure in the area as a volunteer firefighter for the Rio Communities Fire Department.
- Adrian Leyva, 17: Diego's older brother (initial reports said 16, but was later corrected).
- Alexander Leyva, 14: His youngest brother.
The fire department's grief was public and raw. Losing a volunteer firefighter is always a blow to a rural county's infrastructure, but losing one in a "family annihilation" event—a term criminologists use for these rare, devastating cases—is a different kind of pain.
The Question Everyone Asks: Why?
Why does a 16-year-old do this?
The truth is, we don't always get a clean answer. Investigators and the District Attorney’s office have been sifting through the "why" for over a year now. Was it a snap decision fueled by alcohol? Was there something simmering under the surface of that home on Camino Escondido?
His former teacher, Vanessa LaGrange, spoke to reporters and echoed what many felt: pure, unadulterated disbelief. She described Diego Leyva as a student she never would have pegged for violence. That’s the scary part for most parents. The "monster" isn't always visible. Sometimes, it's just a kid who seems like every other kid until the moment everything breaks.
The Legal Reality and Adult Charges
In New Mexico, the law handles crimes of this magnitude with extreme gravity. Even though he was 16 at the time of the murders, Diego Leyva was charged as an adult with four open counts of first-degree murder.
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He had to be taken to a hospital for detoxification before he could even be booked into the Juvenile Justice Center in Albuquerque. That detail—the detox—is a heavy one. It suggests a level of substance use that might have played a role in the inhibition-loss required to pull a trigger against one's own twin or mother.
The Ripple Effect on Belen Schools
The day after the shootings, Belen Consolidated Schools didn't just go back to business as usual. How could they?
Superintendent Lawrence Sanchez had to navigate a school district in mourning. You had students who grew up with the Leyva brothers. You had teachers who had just seen them in class on Friday. The district brought in extra counselors, but honestly, a counselor can only do so much when the tragedy is this senseless.
Students even organized their own tributes—wearing black, bringing balloons. It was a grassroots effort by teenagers trying to process the fact that one of their peers was now behind bars for killing the others.
Understanding Family Annihilation
While the term sounds like something out of a true-crime documentary, it's a real psychological phenomenon. According to data from groups like the Gun Violence Archive, these events are statistically rare but devastatingly consistent in their patterns.
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Most of the time, the perpetrator is a male. Usually, a gun is involved. Often, the perpetrator ends their own life afterward. Diego Leyva is an outlier in that last regard—he called 911. He stayed. He surrendered.
That choice to stay and face the consequences adds a layer of complexity to the legal proceedings. It forces the community to look at him not just as a headline, but as a person who has to live with what happened.
What's Next for the Case?
As we move through 2026, the legal system continues to grind forward. Cases involving quadruple homicides and juvenile-to-adult transfers are never fast. They are marathons of evidence, psychological evaluations, and pre-trial motions.
The Valencia County community is left in a weird spot. You want justice for Leonardo, Adriana, Adrian, and Alexander. But you’re also looking at a kid who was part of that same community.
Actionable Insights for the Community
If there is anything to take away from the tragedy of Diego Leyva New Mexico, it’s a renewed focus on the invisible struggles of our youth.
- Prioritize Mental Health Vigilance: Small changes in behavior, especially when paired with substance use, are red flags. If you see a student or a friend struggling, don't wait for a "reason" to speak up.
- Support Local Fire and First Responders: The Rio Communities Fire Department lost a sister. Supporting these volunteer organizations helps maintain the social fabric that keeps these communities together during crises.
- Encourage Open Dialogue about Substance Use: The fact that a 16-year-old was "extremely intoxicated" at 3 a.m. points to a systemic issue with access and supervision that many rural areas face.
The story of the Leyva family isn't just a news story. It's a reminder that the peace of a New Mexico night can be fragile. Moving forward means remembering the victims and ensuring that the resources for struggling families are more than just a pamphlet in a school office. They need to be a lifeline.