Autopsy for RR teen killed at University of New Mexico found he was shot once in the head

ALBUQUERQUE — Gunfire was first reported on the University of New Mexico campus around midnight on July 25, when a dorm resident called 911 and said he heard four or five gunshots close by.

Hours later, UNM police made entrance into a Casas Del Rio dorm room and found Michael LaMotte, of Rio Rancho, slumped over a chair.

The 14-year-old died from a single gunshot wound to the front of his head, according to an autopsy released Thursday by the state Office of the Medical Investigator. The bullet was not recovered, and the autopsy does not list an estimated time of death.

“LaMotte died as a result of injuries he sustained from a gunshot wound to the head,” the autopsy stated. “The manner of death was homicide.”

The autopsy stated the teen was pronounced dead at 2:22 a.m.

It is unclear when authorities first entered the dormitory and found LaMotte’s body. In multiple releases and news conferences, neither UNM police nor New Mexico State Police have said when the body was found.

In response to questions sent by the Journal on Thursday, New Mexico State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver emailed a prior news release from the day of the homicide, sent after the suspected shooter, John Fuentes, was arrested.

“As UNM officers were conducting a security sweep of the surrounding buildings, they made entry and located a deceased 14-year-old male inside one of the dorms,” according to the July 25 release.

Albuquerque Police Department computer-aided dispatch logs showed LaMotte’s body was reportedly found at 4:41 a.m.

During an Aug. 5 pretrial detention hearing for Fuentes, prosecutors said he was drunk and high on LSD, cocaine and marijuana when he allegedly shot LaMotte while playing video games inside the dorm. Police say Fuentes also shot and injured the teen who lived in the dorm before fleeing.

LaMotte, who had been in the dorm with the group for several hours, had marijuana in his system at the time of his death, according to a toxicology report. No other drugs were detected.