A New Mexico judge has cleared the way for the early release of a mentally disturbed teenager who shot and killed his entire family.
Nehemiah Griego was 15 when he methodically executed his parents and 3 younger siblings in 2013.
A judge will sentence Griego, now 18, under juvenile guidelines that call for him to be released when he turns 21 in March 2018.
The judge considered the decision after hearing from court-appointed psychologists, therapists and teachers, who say Greigo expresses “racist views” and exhibits a fascination with Nazi Germany and absolute power.
Griego was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and a forensic psychologist for the defense recommended he receive 5 more years of treatment.
Prosecutor Michelle Pato described Griego’s actions the day of the murders.
She said he shot and killed his mother while she slept. He then reloaded his weapon and shot his two sisters, ages 5 and 2, in their beds.
He paused to take a cell phone photo of his deceased sisters.
Then he awakened his 9-year-old brother and showed him the bodies before shooting the boy.
“He played with his brother that day knowing he was going to kill him,” Pato said. “This was very much planned, very thought out and cruel.”
His father was the last to die. Griego waited in the bathroom to ambush his father when he returned home.
A security official told the court that in the days after the mass murders, Griego wandered around the campus at Calvary Church, where his father had been a pastor.
A hearing to sentence Griego as a juvenile is scheduled for 3 to six weeks.
