Family searches for answers after landlord accused of murder

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Police say an Albuquerque landlord killed his tenant and buried him on the property.

Jonah Jeter appeared in court and faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder. Detectives say he shot his tenant, Robert DeBeary, and buried him outside the apartment, underneath the porch.

Micah DeBeary, Robert DeBeary’s son, said his family last saw or heard from his father in the middle of August and started worrying when days passed without contact.

“My father is disabled. He had two strokes, and so he also had work done on his head. So he’s had brain surgery and stuff like that. So he is paralyzed on the whole left side of his body.” Micah DeBeary said, “He’s been missing for so long. I already suspect that he’s dead, and so I take it upon myself to break the window, and I go into the apartment.”

Inside, Micah DeBeary said he found his father’s phones in a pool of water, along with his wallet and furniture out of place. He said the bedroom looked like a crime scene.

“I go into his room, and there’s a big stain on his bed that was very dark and muddy,” Micah DeBeary said.

Micah DeBeary said Jeter focused on a broken window instead of concern for Robert DeBeary.

“He’s pacing. He’s not empathetic. The only thing he’s worried about is this window. He’s not worried about the tenant.” Micah DeBeary said, “And then he’s trying to tell us the story that, “Oh, my father been evicted. That he’s months late on his rent.”

Micah DeBeary said his family did not believe that because of his father’s disability and because they checked his bank records.

“So we also checked his bank statements, and every single month, 200 comes out of his account for rent and Section Eight is paying it,” Micah DeBeary said.

Robert DeBeary’s mother, Toni DeBeary, later posted a social media video asking for help finding her son. Micah DeBeary said that led to a tip.

“I got a call and they said, ‘Hey, I seen the landlord digging in front of your house, in front of his house,'” Micah DeBeary said.

In October, police searched the apartment complex and human-remains-detection dogs gave an alert. Police say they found Robert DeBeary’s body buried there, along with the same bed his son had found.

“They he threw his bed frame in there, things like that, but it sucks to feel, and it sucks to know that the day that I went there, that my dad was already buried,” Micah DeBeary said.

This isn’t the first time Jeter is accused of killing someone. In 2010, he was accused of stabbing and killing Oliver Yazzie in Grants. Jeter was 17 at the time, pleaded no contest and received a 10-year sentence with five years suspended.

Micah DeBeary’s family said they should not have learned about that history only after Robert DeBeary was found dead.

Jeter remains in jail and still faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder.

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