CLOUDCROFT, N.M. (KRQE) – A Cloudcroft woman was arrested in Wichita County, Texas, in connection with the death of her husband, according to court documents.
Deana Rene Thetford was booked into the Wichita County Jail on July 8 on the charges of murder and tampering with evidence and is being held there without bond.
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According to court documents, Thetford allegedly killed her husband, Craig Thetford, and his body was later found by investigators wrapped in plastic, blankets, and rugs under piles of carpet and other items in the carport outside the couple’s home on June 17.
Investigators learned that around May 12, multiple family members called the Otero County Sheriff’s Office to request a welfare check on Craig after they said they had not heard from him since January.
A sheriff’s office deputy went to the couple’s home on Heather Way on May 15 and spoke with Deana, who said she and her husband were going through a divorce and that he went to Mexico with his new girlfriend to go fishing. Deana also claimed her husband took $1 million to $1.5 million in cash from their safe with him, according to court documents.
Officials later learned that Craig had not crossed the border since 2023. At a later point in time, not listed in the court documents, Deana allegedly told the investigating deputy that Craig broke his phone, got a new one, and went to take care of his mother in Texas.
Craig’s family member told investigators that he never traveled to take care of his mother. While speaking with Deana, the deputy asked about cameras on their home, to which she claimed they had never worked. The deputy also asked her about a 4-to-5-foot hole in the front yard, which she said was for a raised garden bed.
According to court documents, Deana’s daughter and Craig’s stepdaughter later reportedly told investigators that her mother admitted to shooting Craig multiple times after the couple got into a fight in which Craig allegedly pushed her down stairs.
Deana allegedly told her daughter that she left Craig for one to two days before wrapping and tying up his body and using a tractor to pull the body out of the house and into the carport, court documents state.
When investigators obtained a search warrant and found Craig’s body on June 17 at the couple’s home, they also found that his clothes were removed from the house, and camera security system hardware had been removed.
When a locksmith opened the safes, more than $84,000 in cash was found along with multiple guns and ammunition.
Investigators also learned that Deana had purchased a property in Seymour, Texas, with a cash offer in February. At some point in time, officials said she had also given her truck to her son and bought a Ford Mustang.
According to court documents, investigators said they received at least two other tips from different sources claiming that Deana admitted to shooting Craig.
The Office of the Medical Investigator ruled Craig’s death a homicide and believed that he may have been dead anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
