In the early hours of December 15, 2025, Clovis, New Mexico, woke to a crime so cold and calculated it felt ripped from a gothic parable about greed, delusion, and the dangerous fantasies of adolescence. But this wasn’t fiction. It was a real home, a real family, and a real plan — one that investigators say had been quietly forming for “weeks or months” before it finally erupted into violence.
This is the story of Darren Munoz, 19, who police say hired his friend Julio Zamora, 18, to kill his father and stepmother so the two teens could split the inheritance once the adults were “out of the picture”.
It’s a case that blends entitlement, fantasy, and the eerie banality of premeditation — the kind of story that sits squarely in the intersection of your creative obsessions: folklore‑level moral collapse, the haunting resonance of family secrets, and the chilling clarity of a plan carried out.
The 911 Call That Didn’t Add Up
At 4:50 a.m., Clovis police were dispatched to the Munoz home after a 911 caller reported a possible burglary in progress. When officers arrived, they found the garage door open and Darren waiting outside — calm, composed, and insisting that “everything had been fine” inside the house
When officers said they needed to check on his father, Oscar Steve Munoz (58), and stepmother, Dina Munoz (71), Darren tried to stop them, claiming his parents “slept naked” and didn’t want them disturbed.
It was the first of many lies.
Inside the bedroom, officers found Dina dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Oscar was still alive but gravely injured; he later died at a Lubbock hospital.
Darren’s hands, officers noted, were covered in blood when he emerged from the room moments earlier.
A Story That Unraveled Immediately
During questioning, Darren told investigators he had gone to bed around 9 or 10 p.m. and only woke when the garage door alarm sounded. He claimed he didn’t hear gunshots — a detail police immediately flagged as impossible.
As the affidavit bluntly put it: “It made no sense that Darren would hear the garage door alarm go off but not hear gunshots down the hall.”
There was no forced entry. Nothing was stolen. The “burglary” was a fiction.
And then came the tip that changed everything.
“There Had Been a Plan in Place”
A friend of Darren’s girlfriend contacted police with a chilling statement: There had been a murder plan — not a sudden impulse, but a long‑brewing conspiracy involving Darren, Zamora, and another friend.
The motive? To “take over the parents’ belongings/finances” once they were “out of the picture”.
Darren allegedly believed his father was wealthy — possibly connected to the Allsup’s convenience store franchise — and that killing him would unlock a large inheritance.
Investigators learned:
Darren had been seen with a gun days before the murders, making a homeowner “uncomfortable”.
He was allegedly trying to trade an AR‑style rifle for a “ghost Glock”, a weapon with no serial number and harder to trace.
Security footage captured Darren carrying a gun hours before the murders.
His girlfriend told police Darren wanted his father’s money and that Zamora had agreed to kill the parents in exchange for a share.
Zamora later admitted Darren solicited him to commit the murders and that he used a Glock to do it.
The fantasy of inheritance had metastasized into a murder‑for‑hire plot.
The Morning of the Murders
According to the affidavit, Zamora entered the home while Darren was awake — despite Darren’s claim he had been asleep — and shot Oscar and Dina in their bedroom.
Darren then called 911, attempting to stage the scene as a burglary gone wrong.
But the inconsistencies were immediate:
Darren lied about being the 911 caller.
He “feigned confusion” when asked why he tried to stop officers from entering the home.
His timeline contradicted physical evidence and basic logic.
And the alleged motive — inheritance — was corroborated by multiple witnesses.
By the end of the day, both Darren and Zamora were under arrest.
Charges and Aftermath
Both teens face:
Two counts of first‑degree murder
Conspiracy to commit murder
Criminal solicitation
The case has shaken Clovis — not just because of the brutality, but because of the cold, transactional nature of the motive. This wasn’t rage. It wasn’t a moment of panic. It was a plan.
A plan Darren allegedly believed would solve his problems, elevate his lifestyle, and give him access to money he felt entitled to.
A plan that required his parents to die.
A plan he shared with friends.
A plan he thought he could get away with.
Why This Case Resonates
This story sits in the uncanny valley between teenage fantasy and adult criminality — a place where entitlement, delusion, and peer influence collide. It echoes other parricide cases, but with a modern twist: ghost guns, group chats, and the casual way teens can talk themselves into believing the unthinkable is logical.
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