EWU Bodycam’s crime documentary released footage on their YouTube channel (August 21, 2024), revealing how Karlan Denio, suffering from Frontotemporal Dementia, gruesomely mu*dered his wife.
Key Takeaways
- On Thanksgiving day of 2022, two retired couple, Karlan and Connie Denio, invited their family members to dinner.
- The invited members called the police when no one was answering the house, and they were worried because Karlan suffers from Frontotemporal Dementia.
- When the police arrived, they found Connie’s remains in the master bedroom, m*tilated by Karlan, who confessed and was admitted into a hospital under police custody.
On November 24, 2022, two retired couple, Karlan and Connie Denio, invited their family member over to their house for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Darin Denio, Karlan’s brother, was the first to arrive for the dinner.
However, when he knocked on the door, no one answered.
Growing concerned, Darin picked up his sister, Tami Pacheco, with Tami’s son Taylor.
When they arrived back at Karlan’s house, they still could not get in.
Perturbed by their brother not answering the door, Tami calls 9-1-1.
In the conversation, she called for the operator to send the Police Department over to her brother’s house.
We need a welfare check, something’s wrong. We can’t get in the house and they are expecting everyone over for Thanksgiving.
Via YouTube
Tami then gave the dispatcher an address in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Additionally, to add to the extremity of the matter, Tami revealed that her brother was suffering from Frontotemporal Dementia.
Does your brother have any medical conditions?
Via YouTube
He has the same thing Robin Williams had, it’s a form of dementia
Via YouTube
Tami explained that Karlan lives with his wife, ‘inside somewhere‘ and they could not get a hold of Karlan all morning.
Despite Connie Denio being there to take care of Karlan, Tami’s fears were growing as she recalled a conversation she had with Connie the day before.
She did say, I think yesterday, he had been having a hard time. It’s such a terrible disease he has
Via YouTube
Connie kept a detailed diary of her husband’s highs and lows, so if anyone would be qualified to make a statement about Karlan’s state of mind, it would be Connie.
However, on this day, Tami feared that her brother may have reached a low point in his condition.
Furthermore, she revealed that Karlan has had suici*al ideations in the past as well.
Before ending the call with the operator, Tami asked if they could break into the house.
The operator responded by saying she advised against it, but it was up to Tami to decide if something was extremely wrong.
The operator said the Police should be arriving within 30 minutes.
However, very soon after this conversation, Tami’s son, Taylor, called 9-1-1, extremely disgruntled.
Yeah we have a homicide with my uncle
Via YouTube
Taylor called to report a homicide within the house.
Moreover, he reported that his mom, Tami, was in the house with his wife.
When the operator asked who the deceased was, Taylor responded, “My uncle’s wife.”
My uncle’s wife, my aunt, he k*lled her
Via YouTube
When the operator asked how his aunt passed away, Taylor revealed a mortifying truth.
She’s dismembered
Via YouTube
Taylor then started to get audibly disturbed and horrified at the whole ordeal.
His traumatized mother got back on the phone with the operator, almost unable to believe the horror she witnessed in her brother’s bedroom.
I opened the bedroom door, and there’s pieces of her on the floor. I looked at him and he kinda looked at me, but there’s pieces of her all over the bedroom
Via YouTube
Even after witnessing such scenes, Tami then proceeded to deal with denial, claiming her brother could not do such a thing and could not harm even a fly.
However, only in a short time did she come to her senses and accept that her brother had taken the life of his wife in this manner.
The Police Arrive
Shortly after, the Police Department arrived at the house and surrounded it.
The police had their body cameras on, and the events that unfolded were seen through them.
The police then talked to Tami, Taylor, and Darin to get the gist of the situation.
The family explained that Karlan suffers from Frontotemporal Dementia, and they did everything they could to help him, including asking Connie not to keep knives in the house.
They explained that Karlan was inside the house with the remains of Connie.
Furthermore, they also explained that Karlan was in a very vulnerable state and he was very afraid of the police.
The police then suddenly noticed movement in the garage of the house and saw Karlan standing in the doorway.
They assured him that nobody was going to hurt him, and they apprehended Karlan in a non-lethal way.
After his apprehension, Karlan seemed very disgruntled but aware.
However, he was saying very strange things that confused the police officers.
When a police officer said that help was arriving for Karlan as he had cut himself as well, Karlan responded,
There is no help for me. I have already died
Via YouTube
After apprehending Karlan, the police department decided to go into the house to check the scene.
What they would find would traumatize them forever.
A police officer exclaims that there was ‘stuff’ all over the bed.
Another police officer frantically exits the scene and then proceeds to throw up outside the house.
Tami then spoke with the police, explaining it wasn’t the first time that the police had to get involved with Karlan.
📣Help us find Karlan📣
— Gilbert Police Dept. (@GilbertPolice) June 24, 2020
Karlan Denio (60yo) went missing around Lindsay/Pecos at 3:15pm today in a 2012 silver Ford Taurus. Karlan is 6ft tall, 125lbs and was last seen wearing jeans and a red plaid shirt. If you have seen Karlan or have any info, please call ☎️480-503-6500☎️ pic.twitter.com/5B0d0AWm6W
In 2012, Karlan went missing, and they filed a police report.
The police found him in a frenzied state.
Karlan’s Motive and Confession
I dont know if I k*lled God or He k*lled me!
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
Karlan was also seriously injured.
On the ride to the hospital, he kept the paramedics and the officers occupied with his strange proclamations.
See what happened was.. My soul already died.
Karlan Deniom via YouTube
In the hospital, when the police questioned him, this strangeness continued.
However, even with these strange proclamations, Karlan seemed to know the facts and understood what was happening around him.
Do you know where you’re at?
Police Officer to Karlan, via YouTube
I know where I am at.
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
Can you tell me?
Police Officer to Karlan, via YouTube
I’m at both places.
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
What do you mean both places?
Police Officer to Karlan, via YouTube
I mean, Albuquerque, New Mexico, here in the hospital and I am forever locked into unsaved eternity
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
Furthermore, Karlan said outright that he was guilty of everything.
When the detective asks him about the day before, trying to make sense of the horror, Karlan replies in a monotonous tone that it had been ‘building’ on for years.
He had built a ‘fake him,’ and he finally lost it the day before.
When asked what was ‘building’ for years, Karlan replied,
Hatred
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
Furthermore, he added,
I just jumped out of bed and decided today was the day.. to infilict that much pain on Connie, unfortunately, and on myself.
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
He then proceeded to describe how he had k*lled his wife with a butter knife, and during and after the m*rder, he turned the knife on himself, injuring himself badly.
When pressed further about why he did what he did, Karlan said,
it’s the hatred I had for everybody and the man upstairs. I was taking revenge on God
Karlan Denio, via YouTube
Karlan’s answer is brief and unsettling.
As the officials prepare to press charges against Karlan, his health rapidly declines.
On December 14, 2022, Karlan Denio passed away at the hospital, and the charges against him were dropped by the police.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Karlan Denio is survived by two children; Lisa and Dillon, and their spouses; three grandchildren; four siblings.
- Frontotemporal Dementia, or FTP, is the result of damage to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.
