ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (Court TV) — A New Mexico woman was sentenced to spend more than 20 years behind bars after she admitted to killing her husband, whose body was found wrapped in plastic in the couple’s carport.
Deana Thetford is seen speaking to officers in bodyworn camera footage. (Otero County Sheriff’s Office)
Deana Thetford, 61, pleaded guilty in an agreement with prosecutors to lesser charges in the death of her husband, Craig Thetford. While Deana Thetford had initially faced charges of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and forgery on Thursday.
Court TV reviewed a copy of the plea agreement, signed by Judge Stephen Ochoa. Under the terms of the agreement, Deana Thetford will serve 18 months for the forgery and three years for the tampering with evidence charges concurrently; those sentences will then be followed by a sentence of 15 years in prison followed by three years of probation for the murder charge, totaling 18 years before she is released.
On May 12, 2025, multiple members of the victim’s family called to request a welfare check because they hadn’t been able to speak with him on the phone or see him in person for the five previous months. When officers went to the Thetfords’ home, Deana Thetford claimed the couple was going through a divorce and that her now ex-husband had left for Mexico with a new girlfriend to go fishing. The defendant showed deputies two large gun safes in the home and said there was over $1 million in cash inside, but denied having the combinations.
Investigators quickly determined that the victim hadn’t crossed the border into Mexico, and a witness told them that Craig Thetford had specifically told them that his wife knew the combinations to the safes should anything happen to him.
Deana Thetford’s daughter told investigators that her mother confessed to killing Craig Thetford, saying that she was “blinded by rage and shot Craig multiple times” after he pushed her down the stairs. She further allegedly told her daughter that she struggled to move him, so she left him for a couple of days before wrapping him in a rug and plastic and using a tractor to move the body to the carport.
On June 17, Craig Thetford’s body was found in the carport, wrapped in plastic, blankets and rugs. His body had been covered in a white powdery substance, mothballs, cardboard and miscellaneous items. A medical examiner determined that the victim was killed by multiple gunshot wounds.
