CLOUDCROFT, N.M. (Court TV) — A New Mexico woman is charged with murdering her husband, after his body was found wrapped in plastic and covered with items in their carport.
Deana Thetford is charged with murdering her husband. (Wichita County Jail)
Deana Thetford, 60, is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of her husband, Craig Thetford. Deputies with the Otero County Sheriff’s Office stated in court documents that they were contacted by several members of Craig’s family in May, who reported not having seen or spoken to him since January 2025.
When deputies spoke to Deana, she told them that she and Craig were in the midst of a divorce and that her husband had left for Mexico with a new girlfriend. However, that story proved false when investigators found Craig had not crossed the border since 2023. Deputies who spoke to Deana also noted a large, four- to five-foot hole dug in the front yard, which Deana claimed was for a raised flower bed.
Deana’s daughter contacted police and told them that her mother told her that she had murdered Craig after an incident inside the home. Deana allegedly told her daughter that Craig had pushed her down the stairs, then disclosed that she had been “blinded by rage and shot Craig several times.” Deana’s daughter said that her mother was unable to move the body on her own, so she wrapped Craig in plastic and used a backhoe to move him into the carport.
When deputies executed a search warrant on the couple’s Cloudcroft property, they found Craig’s body in the carport, wrapped in plastic, blankets and rugs. The bundle was covered in an unidentified white powder and mothballs as well as cardboard and “miscellaneous items.”
The Thetfords’ home had a security system, but deputies serving the search warrant found the system’s hardware had been removed. Two safes, which Deana had initially told detectives contained $1.5 million dollars, were found to have $84,300 in cash and several firearms. Detectives determined that in February, Deana purchased a home in Texas with a cash offer and purchased a Ford Mustang for herself.
The medical examiner ruled Craig’s death a homicide, saying he died from multiple gunshot wounds, and said he had been dead for weeks to months.
