A Kirtland man faces a first-degree murder charge after his wife was found dead with extensive injuries and investigators uncovered evidence of alleged abuse.
Digital Assignment Editor
San Juan County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Kirtland man on Friday after his wife was found dead in a suspected homicide.
According to deputies, a 17-year-old called 911 on Oct. 4. He reported that his mother, 36-year-old Lauren Patterson, was unconscious and not breathing.
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When deputies arrived, they found the victim deceased at the scene. An autopsy revealed the victim had suffered multiple broken bones, bruising and internal bleeding.
Investigators later learned that the victim’s husband, 34-year-old Jess Patterson, had been arrested at least six or seven times in California and once in New Mexico for domestic violence.
Neighbors across the street told police that they could “hear him beating her,” according to an affidavit for Patterson’s arrest.
Disturbing video on Patterson’s cellphone also shows him abusing Lauren, standing on her chest and taunting her as she gasps for air.
Deputies arrested Patterson on an open count of first-degree murder.
