Man Kills, Dismembers, Disembowels Wife Hours Before Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

A man with dementia allegedly killed, dismembered, and disemboweled his wife hours before hosting Thanksgiving dinner at their house on Thursday, Nov. 24.

Connie Denio and Karlan Denio, 62, had arranged for their relatives to arrive at the couple’s Albuquerque home at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24 to celebrate Thanksgiving. However, when their out-of-town family arrived at their home that afternoon, they couldn’t get in the home, New York Post reported.

When nobody answered the door, Karlan’s brother, who was from out of town, and his sister contacted the police to request a welfare check at the home. However, the dispatcher told them that the police could not force their way in. Following this, the relatives knocked on all doors and windows and had to take the hinges off a door to enter the couple’s Albuquerque home. When they entered the home, they found Connie “dismembered and disemboweled” on the bedroom floor and Karlan lying in the bed.

"Karlan looked at her, at which point (she) backed out of the residence and called police again," the criminal complaint said.

Shortly after the relatives forced their way into the home, a second 911 call was made to report that Karlan had allegedly killed his wife. When the officers arrived at the grisly scene, they found Connie “dismembered and disemboweled.”

Following the gruesome discovery, the officers detained Karlan and found he had cuts on his leg and neck. Karlan’s sister told police that the home had been dark when the siblings entered the house, the U.S Sun reported.

The family told authorities that in the last two years, Karlan had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. They added that the condition could have changed his personality, and caused him emotional withdrawal, and other mental health issues.

Neighbor Rick Cordova said that he lived next to the Denios for two decades. Cordova described the couple as “nice folks” and said that they were the kind of people he would “least expect” to experience such an event.

Following the incident, Karlan was charged with murder in the death of his wife. He was admitted to the hospital for treatment and is currently in the hospital recovering from lacerations to his arm and neck.