The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office announced the recovery of a 13-year-old boy’s body from a shallow grave on a remote stretch of New Mexico highway, ending a two-month search that began when a jailhouse informant revealed the child had been killed by his mother’s boyfriend. The victim, Jeremiah Andrew Valencia, died in late November 2017 after months of systematic torture that included being stabbed with a homemade spear, forced to sleep in a plastic dog crate, and beaten with brass knuckles, a sledgehammer, and steel-toed boots, according to court documents and witness testimony.
Jeremiah’s mother, Tracy Anne Pena, and her boyfriend, Thomas Ferguson, along with Ferguson’s 19-year-old son Jordan Nunes, were arrested in connection with the death. Ferguson died by suicide in his jail cell on April 27, 2018, before he could stand trial. Pena pleaded guilty to child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 resulting in death and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Nunes, who admitted to participating in the torture, received a 21-year sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges.
The case unraveled on January 25, 2018, when an unnamed inmate told jail officials that Tracy Pena had confessed to her that her son was dead. The inmate said Pena described how Ferguson killed Jeremiah and forced her to help move the body. Detectives then listened to recorded jail phone calls between Pena and Ferguson, in which Pena said she cried about her son every day.
When questioned, Pena admitted that after her release from jail on November 26, 2017, she found Jeremiah’s lifeless body wrapped in a blanket. She said Ferguson later took her to a location on Route 503, where he claimed the boy was buried.
Ferguson initially told investigators a different story, claiming he found Jeremiah injured after a fight with Nunes and tried to perform CPR, but did not call police because he feared being accused. He denied moving the body. Jordan Nunes, when interviewed, changed his story multiple times, eventually admitting that his father punched Jeremiah, dragged him into a back room, and locked the door.
Nunes said he heard loud music from his father’s room for the rest of the evening and was too scared to report the death because Ferguson threatened to hurt him, his stepmother, and Jeremiah’s younger sister.
Jeremiah’s younger sister, who was not named due to her age, provided the most harrowing account. She told police that Ferguson forced the entire family to participate in the 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮. He would make Tracy beat her own son when he did not want to do it himself.
The sister recalled being forced to watch Ferguson poke Jeremiah with a homemade spear in the parents’ bedroom and being forced to strike her brother herself. She said Ferguson would beat her if she refused. Jeremiah was often so severely beaten that he needed a cane or wheelchair to move.
As punishment, he was locked in a plastic dog crate and forced to wear a shock collar, either around his neck or on his ankle.
On the day of his death, the sister said, Ferguson became angry at Jeremiah and locked him in the crate. After Jeremiah fell asleep, Nunes began flipping the crate to wake him. When Nunes pulled Jeremiah out, the boy’s head was “just kind of dangling” and he never woke up.
The sister said Jeremiah was emaciated, his cuts were infected, he had a black eye, and a tooth was knocked out. Ferguson and Nunes then washed the blood off Jeremiah’s body in the bathtub before placing him on his bed, where Tracy later found him. The family was told to lie and say Jeremiah had gone to live with relatives.
Police executed search warrants at the family’s home in Namb, New Mexico. Using special lights, they found blood evidence in both Ferguson’s bedroom and Jeremiah’s bedroom that was not visible to the naked eye. The plastic dog crate, measuring just 26 by 39 inches, was later found at a cousin’s home.
Tests confirmed Jeremiah’s blood was on the crate, the homemade spear, and a sledgehammer. Large amounts of blood were also found inside a fireplace where the boy was often tortured and confined behind a specially made door.
An autopsy confirmed that Jeremiah died from blunt force trauma. His body had multiple jaw fractures, a dislocated eyeball, rips in his scalp, cheek, and ear, a broken hand, and broken ribs. His jaw was so badly broken that bone was poking through his gums.
The examination was limited by decomposition, as the body was not recovered until nearly two months after death. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Tracy Pena initially told a different version of events, claiming that Jeremiah’s body was kept in the garage for three days, then wrapped in plastic and duct tape and placed in a large plastic storage tub. She said Ferguson forced her and Nunes to drive to a remote stretch of Route 503, where they dug a hole and buried the tub. Police later found the tub containing Jeremiah’s remains, wearing a diaper as described by Nunes.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia, visibly emotional during a press conference, said, “I can honestly say this poor child suffered at the hands of a monster. It’s very gut-wrenching to the point where you go home and it’s hard to sleep at night just thinking about the abuses this poor child went through.”
Community members expressed shock and guilt. Karina Hernandez, who organized a vigil for Jeremiah, said, “We’re a small community. When we see problems we want to help.
The guilt is felt throughout the community right now. What could we have done to help?” Another woman at the vigil said, “This child had no one.
We all had some kind of responsibility in it. How do we change? Go back and think about this.
He went through hell, but right now he’s here with us, and he’s smiling down at us. That’s our guardian angel.”
Jeremiah’s father, Andrew Valencia, who had not seen his son since he was six years old, organized a five-year anniversary vigil in 2022. He said, “He was always an active kid. It’s a tragedy.
He had a good future, I know he did. Just remember him. He still lives every day in my life and in my heart.”
The case also raised questions about how a child could be out of school for seven months without anyone noticing. Under New Mexico law, parents are required to enroll children between the ages of 5 and 18, but no specific state official is responsible for ensuring compliance. When Tracy removed Jeremiah and his sister from school in West Las Vegas in February 2017, saying they were moving to Santa Fe, they never enrolled in any other school.
School officials did not follow up.
Jeremiah had actually reached out to a family member on Facebook for help, but that relative sent a message to Tracy, who replied that Jeremiah was a “manipulative liar” and told the family member to mind her own business. Nothing else came of the plea.
In court, prosecutors argued that Jordan Nunes, despite claiming he was also a victim of Ferguson’s 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮, actively participated in Jeremiah’s torture. Facebook messages showed Nunes wrote that he “took someone off the map” and could do time for it. The prosecution showed the dog crate, the homemade spear, and the sledgehammer, all positive for Jeremiah’s blood.
Two people left the courtroom in tears as horrifying images of the battered and decomposing body were displayed.
District Attorney Marco Cerna said after Ferguson’s suicide, “I’m angry that this happened because I don’t believe Ferguson is going to receive the justice my office was going to bring against him to bring justice to Jeremiah.” He vowed to focus on Pena and Nunes, and true to his word, the prosecution pushed for and secured lengthy sentences.
Jeremiah’s funeral was held on February 8, 2018, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Pecos, New Mexico. Hundreds attended, packing the pews and aisles.
Family members placed their handprints on his white casket with gold angels. One family member said, “He was an amazing little boy with a heart of gold and a smile that could light up a room.” Another tearfully said, “We love you Jeremiah, and this isn’t goodbye.
We will see you again.”
The procession to the cemetery included mounted sheriff’s posse members and patrol cars. At the grave, the crowd blessed Jeremiah with outstretched hands as the song “See You Again” by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa played. His granite headstone reads: “At peace.
Beloved son, grandson, and brother. Jeremiah A. Valencia.
December 6, 2003 – November 26, 2017.”
Every year since, vigils have been held to remember the boy who loved Batman, cars, and his dogs. His half-sister Karen Gonzalez said, “He was really sweet, helpful, not shy whatsoever. He would walk up to anybody and say, ‘Hi, my name’s Jeremiah, who are you?’
He’d make friends just like that. I’m just really glad he’s not suffering anymore.”
The case remains a stark reminder of the failures of a system that allowed a child to disappear from public view. As one community member said, “Frustration doesn’t even begin to describe it. These children need to stop dying.
It’s awful. I see this on the news every day. This is happening to one of our children tonight.”
