Roswell Man Turns Himself In, Confesses to Killing Landlord 15 Years Later

Tony Ray Peralta, 37, walked into a convenience store in Roswell, New Mexico, borrowed a stranger's cellphone, and called 911 to confess he had killed his landlord, 69-year-old William "Bill" Blodgett, with a screwdriver nearly 15 years earlier. Officers found Peralta sitting on a curb outside the store on May 1, 2023, sweating and smoking a cigarette, his guilt already pouring out before they could ask a single question.

"I'm just tired of covering it up," he told the responding officers. "I'm tired of living with my life, sir."

Blodgett had vanished in December 2008, leaving behind an abandoned-looking home with personal belongings still inside and his vehicle parked out front. Police talked to family, friends and neighbors, found no immediate signs of foul play, and deployed a cadaver dog on the property. The dog detected nothing. A detective eventually wrote in the case file: "All leads in reference to this case have been exhausted. The case will be closed pending further leads or information." For nearly 15 years, that is where it stood.

When Peralta finally sat down in an interview room at Roswell Police Department headquarters, he did not hedge. "I killed somebody, dude," he told a detective. "I killed him with a screwdriver." Asked for a reason, he offered none. "A lot of people have an excuse," he said. "I don't have one."

He repeated himself throughout the session: "I confess, man. I confess. I don't want to live life anymore without confessing."

Detectives peppered him with questions about when the killing happened, how he did it and why. Peralta often answered that he didn't know or didn't remember, acknowledging he had been drinking heavily the day he made the call. What he did know was where the body was buried. He agreed to take officers to the site before standing up and voluntarily offering his wrists to be cuffed, thanking them, repeatedly, for picking him up.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the house where Peralta had rented from Blodgett. After removing plywood floorboards from a detached room on the side of the property, they found a boot, bones and dentures.

Peralta was booked into the Chaves County jail on suspicion of murder. The Chaves County District Attorney's Office indicated he faces a first-degree murder charge. The Roswell Police Department released the 911 recording and nearly an hour of body camera footage in response to a records request, with the video showing a tearful Peralta crying as he worked through the details with authorities.

He told a detective he had come forward for the sake of his own family. The detective told him he was helping Blodgett's family too.