The death and subsequent disappearance and burial of 13-year-old Jeremia Valencia in Santa Fe, NM, eventually resulted in the arrests of his mother, stepfather, and another son, Jordan Nunez. The parent defendants admitted responsibility. Mr. Nunez, however, asserted through experts that he had been coerced by his abusive father to participate in the abuse and murder of his stepbrother.
Prosecutors retained an adolescent psychology specialist from The Forensic Panel to evaluate the evidence and interview the defendant and appraise his role in the homicide. His efforts were peer reviewed by a forensic psychologist, a specialist in complex adolescent trauma, and a forensic psychiatrist.
The evaluation was rendered more complex by the contradicting accounts of the three defendants, and the changing statements of Mr. Nunez himself. The father, whom no one disputed had been very abusive to the decedent and others, killed himself in jail. There were, however, other children in the home whom The Forensic Panel’s specialist interviewed as well. Through these and other informants, the adolescent psychologist gained a better sense of how Jordan related to Jeremiah, most notably leading up to Jeremiah’s killing. The forensic assessment was able to reconstruct a behavioral timeline that demonstrated how abuse of Jeremiah significantly escalated when Jordan recently came to stay in the home. And, how events of the day included callous abuse that Jordan inflicted, independent of the presence or any pressure of the father, including the death blows themselves.
After depositions, Nunez’ defense agreed to plead guilty to his having participated in the torture and abuse of Jeremiah, for which he was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Mr. Nunez’ role as an active, self-directed participant in a death resulting from abuse reflected in the sentencing, as did the influence of his father in a bleak home life.
