A New Mexico woman who allegedly told police that her missing husband had gone fishing in Mexico with another woman was arrested for his murder after his body was discovered in her carport.
Deana Thetford, whose age was unknown, was found in Texas after New Mexico authorities issued a warrant for her arrest on first-degree murder charges. Thetford, who is currently in custody at the Wichita County Jail, is accused of shooting her 60-year-old husband, Craig Thetford, and dragging his body into the carport of their shared home with a tractor.
According to court records reviewed by Law&Crime, Craig Thetford was reported missing in May after his family members stated that they had not heard from him since January. On June 17, his remains were discovered wrapped in plastic and covered with white powder and other trash.
Police said the search for Craig Thetford began on May 12 after family members asked for a welfare check at his home. On May 15, Otero County Sheriff’s deputies visited the Thetford home and spoke with Deana Thetford, who informed them that she and her husband were divorcing and that he had “gone down to Mexico with his new girlfriend to fish.”
According to police, Deana Thetford showed sheriff’s deputies two safes belonging to Craig Thetford for which she did not know the combinations. She told police that her husband had up to $1.5 million in cash in those safes and that she believed he had taken the money to Mexico.
Deana Thetford was interviewed by police again, but her story changed. She told police that Craig Thetford had broken his phone and replaced it, but she didn’t know his new phone number. She also stated that her husband had traveled to Texas to care for his mother, which Craig Thetford’s sister disputes.
A sheriff’s deputy who spoke with Deana Thetford at her home discovered security cameras that she claimed were not working. He also inquired about a four to five-foot-deep hole in her front yard. She said it was going to be used as a “raised garden bed.”
Police later learned that Deana Thetford’s daughter “had information” about her stepfather’s disappearance and spoke with her on the phone on May 13. The daughter told police that her mother told her that she and Craig Thetford got into a fight and he pushed her down a flight of stairs. Following the alleged physical altercation, Deana Thetford allegedly told her daughter that she was “blinded by rage and shot Craig several times.”
Deana Thetford told her daughter that she allegedly left Craig Thetford where he fell — in the pool room — for up to two days, unable to decide what to do with him. She then allegedly wrapped her late husband in “rug and plastic, tied something to him, and used the tractor to pull him out of the house.”
Deana Thetford allegedly informed her daughter that the body was still in the carport.
On June 17, a search warrant was executed at the home, and Craig Thetford’s body was discovered in the carport, “wrapped in black plastic, blankets, and rugs while covered in a white powder substance and moth balls.” He was discovered beneath a pile of other items captured on body cameras during a previous month’s visit by a sheriff’s deputy.
Craig Thetford was shot multiple times, according to an autopsy, and he died between “a few weeks and a few months.” His death was ruled as a homicide.
Deana Thetford was in Texas when police searched the Thetford home, having purchased property in Seymour with cash in February. Deana Thetford told police in May that she couldn’t open the safes, but a locksmith did; inside were “approximately $84,200” in cash, firearms, and ammunition.
According to police, “people had become curious of how suddenly Deana had money.”
Deana Thetford was arrested in Texas and taken to Wichita County Jail, where she is being held without bond. She was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
