Ernest Arguello, 32, of Tucumcari, New Mexico, was found dead at Five Mile Park on March 11, 2024. A regular park walker discovered his body about 200 yards from the entrance. Medical investigators determined he had been shot in the back of the head.

Within hours the investigation focused on Ashley Danielle Hall, then 22 and also of Tucumcari. Dispatchers had reported Hall admitted to Trigg Memorial Hospital after her mother found her with a slit wrist. At the hospital Hall told staff she had shot and killed her friend at Five Mile Park and later gave police a statement saying she and Arguello argued in her car, that she took his gun because she was afraid, and that she shot him when he put his head on the steering wheel. Police found a .22-caliber revolver with two spent cartridges in Hall’s car.

Hall was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. She told investigators she suffered from schizophrenia; a competency report found her fit for trial. In May 2024 she pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder under a plea agreement calling for six to 10 years in prison followed by five years of probation, with sentencing set for a later date after a diagnostic evaluation.

Did anyone who knew Ernest or has information about that night in March come forward to investigators?