On March 16, 2016, two people were found dead inside a house fire at 917 N Avenue J in Portales, New Mexico. The victims were 39-year-old John Jesse Bustamante and 31-year-old Christina Winters-Griffin. Investigators determined both had suffered gunshot wounds to the head.

The Major Crimes Unit investigated and the case remained cold for several years while the District Attorney’s Office continued to pursue leads. Investigators later arrested 37-year-old Jose R. Zapata at a Portales residence after executing a search warrant; he was found hiding in a crawl space and in possession of a firearm. Zapata was charged with two counts of murder, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, and two counts of tampering with evidence, and was scheduled for an initial court appearance and pretrial detention hearing.

Few public details are available about motive or timeline inside the house. If anyone has information about John Bustamante, Christina Winters-Griffin, or the events at 917 N Avenue J, please share what is known.