Police: New Mexico dad killed toddler, self

Sami Edge
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Police lights by night

Ryan T. Propes was in the middle of custody proceedings with the mother of his 3-year-old son, Owen, court documents show, when he killed himself and the boy.

Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies went to Propes' home on Pacheco Canyon Road northeast of Santa Fe for a welfare check Thursday, spokesman Juan Ríos said in a statement, after someone called 911 to tell dispatchers that Propes had threatened suicide in an email.

Deputies found 33-year-old Propes dead at the home near Tesuque, Ríos said, adding that Propes had shot his 3-year-old son and the family's dog before killing himself.

Jan Ferrari of Texas said Friday that Ryan T. Propes was her son. She estimated that Propes had moved to Santa Fe sometime within the last decade, where he first worked at a bakery and fixing bikes. More recently, she said, he worked in construction.

He was originally from Austin, Texas, Ferrari said.

She last spoke with her son about a week ago, she said. They talked about things Ferrari had sent him for Christmas, and at the time "he seemed quite happy."

"I've been up there a few times and spent time with Owen," she said of her grandson. "He was a wonderful kid."

Propes didn't share all of the details about his relationship with Owen's mother, Ferrari said, but he had mentioned the couple were separated and had talked about trying to determine custody.

Online court records show a woman filed a petition in the state District Court in Santa Fe in early December to establish custody and child support for Owen.

The woman's lawyer, Nathaniel Thompkins, said she was never married to Propes. The court needed to establish parentage to determine child support, Thompkins said.

Propes was due in court Wednesday for a hearing in the custody case, court records show, but Thompkins said the man didn't show up.

The next day, deputies say, he killed the boy and himself.

"Everybody is just crushed," Ferrari said. "... I think we're all just shocked."

Efforts to reach the boy's mother were unsuccessful Friday.

"It's a tough thing to have to go through," Thompkins said about his client. "Right now she's just dealing with it, and I can imagine how difficult it is."

Business records show Propes was involved with a number of businesses in Santa Fe, including limited liability corporations with names like EcoLogic and Beetle Wise.

Propes had no criminal history in New Mexico, according to online court records. He filed a lawsuit against a downtown business owner at one point, claiming the owner had failed to pay him for construction work. The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice.

Ríos said Friday the sheriff's office was still in the process of interviewing family members and waiting for autopsies to be completed by the state Office of the Medical Investigator. Until detectives get autopsy reports, Ríos said, the sheriff's office likely won't have much more information to release in the case.

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