ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A jury found two suspects guilty of charges they faced for the murder of an 11-year-old boy near Isotopes Park in 2023.

Shortly following the verdict, convicted murderers Nathan Garley and Jose Romero left the courtroom in handcuffs.

A jury found them guilty on more than a dozen charges and enhancement in the shooting death of 11-year-old Froylan Villegas outside Isotopes Park in 2023.

The verdicts are the beginning of closure for the family of Froylan Villegas. The weeklong trial has been full of emotion and tears as they continue to search for justice. 

Tatiana Villegas – who remains in a wheelchair after she was shot multiple times – says with this verdict, she can now focus on walking again and honoring the memory of Froylan.

“He was here with us this whole week. Actually on Thursday when we were leaving we always see yellow birds and that reminds us of him. So when we were leaving Thursday we saw two yellow birds out here, and we said ‘Froy qui estas, you’re here’ and the birds started chirping and flew away, and he gives us signs all the time he’s still with us,” said Tatiana Villegas, Froylan’s cousin.

It was another very emotional moment in court Friday afternoon, Garley and Romero were immediately handcuffed when they were found guilty. 

Family stayed in the courthouse for a while after it happened to call other relatives and relay the news. 

“But a very sad case, no winners. The Villegas family is never getting their son back, Tatiana is never going to walk again, and my very young client will likely spend his entire life behind bars. That is a very tough set of facts,” said Thomas Clark, a defense attorney for Nathen Garley.  

“We are just so thankful for the jurors, I think they came to the right decision. We submitted over 222 exhibits that we entered into evidence, APD did a tremendous job investigating this case,” said Collin Brennan, deputy district attorney.

The jury has heard from all 18 of the state’s witnesses. On Thursday, an expert talked about using cell phone data to track the suspects after the shooting. 

Garley’s and Romero’s attorneys questioned the expert on whether prosecutors had anything to do with putting together her presentation. 

A medical investigator described the process of putting together the report, reviewing photos of Froylan, including his CT scan. 

Prosecutors asked him to describe a series of photos. Because the photos were graphic, the judge did not want them shown in the courtroom. Instead, they were passed around to the jury. 

Ultimately, medical investigators said Froylan’s cause of death was gunshot wounds. The manner of death was homicide. 

Throughout the trial, the jury has heard from one of the suspects in the murder and from Froylan’s family. Opening statements kicked off the trial Monday.