A man claimed to authorities that he carried out a brutal attack after receiving orders from a cockroach.
On November 7, police responded to reports of gunfire in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, at approximately 10:30 p.m.
According to a press release issued by the Sheriff’s Office, deputies found two deceased men inside the residence with apparent gunshot wounds.
A 25-year-old man was arrested after claiming a cockroach instructed him to carry out a fatal attack
Image credits: Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office
Three additional adults and two young children were also found inside the home.
“The adults were detained for questioning, and the children were safely removed from the scene,” the statement stated.
Authorities said one suspect was taken into custody in connection with the crime. He was later identified as 25-year-old Alexis Hernandez, as per People.
The suspect was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and is facing two open counts of first-degree murder.
Image credits: Unsplash+/ Ahmet Kurt
When deputies arrived at the scene, Hernandez was reportedly standing at the front door with a firearm on his waistband and a Marine Corps Sabre on his hip.
According to the arrest warrant, the 25-year-old told authorities he was in the Marines and “had to do what he had to do.” He then allegedly stated that there were two bodies inside the house.
The suspect confirmed he knew both men, one of whom was the owner of the property.
Alexis Hernandez has been detained in connection with the fatal attack of two men in New Mexico
Image credits: Pexels/Erik Karits
Hernandez told officials that he had previously bought a handgun for “protection” and that he had it with him because he was “afraid for his life” when the two men allegedly took him to the back room of the house.
Hernandez then shot the property owner in the front of the house and the other man in the kitchen, as per the arrest warrant.
He then allegedly shot the victims again after going back to his car to reload his weapon.
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The property owner was found with “possible gunshot wounds,” while the second victim also appeared to have stab wounds.
Hernandez claimed that the property owner had been stalking him by installing surveillance cameras in the lights of the home.
Hernandez told police he had previously bought a weapon for “protection”
He also said he heard “creepy voices coming from the vents.”
The suspect alleged that he had “been getting signs” to murder the property owner.
According to the warrant, Hernandez claimed he “received an encrypted message in a cockroach because [the property owner] did not like cockroaches.”
“This message told Alexis he needed to kill [him],” the document read.
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The alleged attacker further claimed that he had been “seeing signs all around him that he saw and couldn’t ignore” before carrying out the crime.
Hernandez told authorities that the two children inside the property had witnessed the double murder and insisted he wasn’t going to “take” them or “do anything to them.”
The investigation is ongoing. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said they are continuing to gather evidence and interview witnesses.
The suspect claimed he had been “getting signs” to carry out the double homicide
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In 2022, a 52-year-old British man named Can Arslan stabbed his neighbor 27 times, telling police that the voice of his childhood teddy bear had instructed him to commit the crime.
However, a forensic psychologist concluded there was no evidence to suggest that Arslan was mentally ill. Instead, the expert said he was fully in control of his actions and that the attack was a “purposeful act.”
The expert, Dr. John Sandford, noted that people who are hallucinating are often very distracted, will respond to the voices they are hearing, and find it difficult to differentiate between the person talking to them in real life and the voice, as per The Independent.
Paranoia manifests as a pattern of delusional beliefs or excessive mistrust that is not rooted in reality
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Additionally, for people with paranoia, the voices typically fit into a pattern of delusional beliefs. In contrast, Arslan’s beliefs were rooted in reality, as he was facing eviction and had prior confrontations with his neighbors.
“When you get a voice on its own you are always very sceptical, but when you get a voice on its own after a serious offence, you are even more sceptical,” stated Dr. Sandford.
Image credits: Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office
Arslan had reportedly subjected the victim, Matthew Boorman, to years of threats before the incident, warning him, “I’m going to kill you” and “I’m going to put you in the ground.”
The perpetrator, who claimed he should be convicted of a lesser charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, was found guilty of murder in April 2022.
Social media users were baffled by Alexis Hernandez’s unusual explanation to police
