Authorities in New Mexico have arrested a man nicknamed “Psycho” who was wanted after three sets of human remains were found in southern Colorado last week.
Andre Jordan Baroz, 26, was arrested at a motel in Gallup on Thursday afternoon by federal agents, authorities said.
He faces charges of first-degree homicide, first-degree assault and kidnapping, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. That agency said the warrant is sealed and that it wouldn’t be releasing additional details.
The human remains were found in Conejos County by officials executing a search warrant related to stolen equipment and vehicles, Monte Vista Police Chief George Dingfelder said Wednesday according to NBC affiliate KOAA of Pueblo.
The police chief in Alamosa, whose department was assisting in the investigation, has said Baroz had been “clearly identified” as a suspect and that he is well-known in the area by his nickname.
The remains were on two separate properties close to one another and near the rural town of Las Sauces in the San Luis Valley, Monte Vista police said. Baroz is from Sanford, which is about 10 miles away.
Remains were first found Nov. 10, and a few days later, when the second property was searched, KOAA reported.
No property owners lived at the sites where the remains were found, police said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how long the remains had been there, but Dingfelder said that identifying the remains could take several weeks because of their condition.
A forensic anthropologist confirmed that the remains included at least three people, but the identities, genders, and ages are all under investigation, he said.
Three days after the initial discovery, Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther said a task force was formed to conduct the investigation, including the Alamosa Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado State Patrol, Conejos County, Monte Vista Police Department, and Saguache County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities have said the remains were unrelated to the case of Suzanne Morphew, a 49-year-old Colorado mother who went missing after going on a bike ride on Mother’s Day.
Dingfelder added the remains were not connected to any missing persons cases, saying that any speculation would be “irresponsible.”
Conejos County is in the south-central part of Colorado on the New Mexico border.
