FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — A Taos man was sentenced to life in prison for the June 2019 killings of two members of the Taos Pueblo.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Joshua Gonzales, 39, a non-Indian, murdered John Doe 1 and his father, John Doe 2, both enrolled members of the Taos Pueblo, inside John Doe 1’s residence.
The evidence established that Gonzales repeatedly bludgeoned both victims with a wooden table leg, causing catastrophic head injuries and multiple skull fractures. After killing the men, Gonzales dragged their bodies, stacked them on top of one another inside the residence, and concealed them beneath rolled wire fencing. The victims were not discovered until two days later, after family members reported them missing.
Surveillance video, forensic evidence, and cell phone records established a clear timeline of the murders and Gonzales’s actions afterward. Video footage showed John Doe 2 arriving at the residence shortly before the killings. Minutes later, surveillance captured John Doe 2’s pickup truck being driven erratically around the property before crashing into trees nearby, consistent with Gonzales’s attempted flight from the scene. The truck was later found abandoned.
Inside and around the residence, investigators documented extensive blood evidence, vehicle tracks, damaged fencing, and bone fragments. Cell phone records further established Gonzales’s involvement, showing that he possessed and used one of the victim’s phones the morning after the murders and began using a new phone shortly thereafter.
Witness testimony further tied Gonzales to the crimes. A family member testified that Gonzales was the last person seen with John Doe 1, possessed the spare key to the residence, attempted to fabricate an alibi, and later threatened her with death to prevent her from speaking to authorities. Additional witnesses testified to Gonzales providing key admissions about his role in the killings, describing in detail how he beat both victims and concealed their bodies with details closely matching the physical evidence.
Nearly six years after the murders, a federal jury in June 2025 convicted Gonzales of two counts of second-degree murder following an eight-day trial.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Taos Pueblo Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Indian Affairs, New Mexico State Police, Espanola Police Department, Taos Police Department, Taos County Sheriff’s Department, and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark A. Probasco and Samuel A. Hurtado are prosecuting the case.