Details emerge as police charge man with killing his 69-year-old mother
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LAS CRUCES – Prosecutors seek to hold a man in jail after police accused him of killing his mother, abandoning her dogs in San Diego, and attempting to flee to Mexico before winding up in a Las Cruces jail cell.
Dillon Alexander Waller, 29, was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Police believe Waller killed his mother, Cynthia Berendzen, 69, before Nov. 21, 2022. A spokesperson with the 3rd Judicial District Attorney's Office said prosecutors intended to ask a judge to hold Waller in jail without bond ahead of trial. That hearing will likely occur next week.
An affidavit filed in court paints a twisting narrative of discovering Berendzen's body, finding her car abandoned near a border patrol checkpoint, and a confused confession earlier this week.
Here's what we know.
Discovery of abandoned car leads back to Las Cruces
Border Patrol agents discovered a vehicle matching a description of Berendzen's near a checkpoint in San Diego, California. Berendzen's four dogs were inside the car.
According to an LCPD spokesperson, all four dogs were healthy when discovered. The spokesperson wasn't sure about the animal's current whereabouts but said Border Patrol had taken custody of the animals at the scene. When agents ran the chips embedded in their bodies, they came up with Berendzen's address in Las Cruces. Three days later, Berendzen's family reported her missing. The affidavit said her family at the time had no contact with her and was beginning to worry.
Las Cruces Police Department Officers Nathaniel Telles and John Guaderrama discovered Berendzen on Nov. 21, 2022, at her home. The affidavit said the officers were performing a welfare check at Berendzen's house, adding that a neighbor with an extra house key let Telles and Guaderrama inside.
As they looked around, an eerie scene greeted them. In the living room, the carpet was missing. In the kitchen, silverware, dishware and food were gone. Telles and Guaderrama told detectives that the smell of urine and bleach wafted through the house as they looked around. In the bathroom, they found Berendzen's body. They said her body showed signs of decomposition, suggesting she'd been dead for several days.
Also missing from the house was Berendzen's car and her four dogs. Another neighbor told police they'd seen Waller, Berendzen youngest son, driving the car a week before. Waller, meanwhile, was stranded in San Diego before returning to Las Cruces to live on the streets for several weeks until his arrest.
Waller confesses
Waller was arrested on April 1 in an unrelated matter.
Court records police think Waller was dealing methamphetamine before his arrest, leading to a drug charge. But Waller was on conditions of release and failed to appear for a hearing regarding an alleged DWI in 2021, so he was held in jail.
After his arrest, Waller was interviewed by Las Cruces Detective Oscar Magallanes on April 6. Magallanes said in the affidavit that Waller said he didn't know anything about his mother's death. Waller added that he hadn't talked to Berendzen since October.
According to the affidavit, Magallanes said he pushed back on the statements and Waller offered a different narrative. This time, Waller said, his mother died unexpectedly. Waller fled, he told police, fearing he might be implicated in her death because of outstanding arrest warrants. But again, Magallanes pushed back. Waller then confessed to strangling his mother in her sleep.
Waller told Magallanes that Berendzen was sick and had financial debts. Waller also told Magallanes that he believed his mother was facing prison for a civil matter she was involved in. However, a search of publicly available court records revealed no pending cases involving Berendzen.
According to Magallanes, Waller said he believed killing his mother would be an act of mercy. As she slept around midnight sometime before Nov. 14, Waller said he strangled her. Waller did not leave immediately.
After the killing
With his mother's body still in the house, Waller said he set about cleaning and removing damaged items like the rug for five days. Additionally, Waller said he used his mother's bank card to periodically withdraw money as he prepared to flee to Tijuana, Mexico.
Waller told police he did not act alone. According to the affidavit, Waller said a romantic partner helped him clean his mother's house. Waller said he and the partner drove to San Diego with Berendzen's dogs. They separated at the border, abandoning Berendzen's dogs and car nearby. They were to link back up in Tijuana. But Waller said the partner never showed.
When asked who the partner was, whether they'd been found, and if they faced any criminal charges, LCPD spokesperson Dan Trujillo declined to answer.
"At this point, our investigation is still ongoing, so we cannot say anything further about the case," Trujillo said.
When Waller crossed back into the U.S., he said he lost track of the car.
Sometime later, Waller said he was admitted to the hospital. Upon release, they gave him a bus ticket back to Las Cruces, where he spent the next few months living on the streets, according to the affidavit. Waller was charged after his interview with Magallanes.
It's also unclear why and how Waller and his mother reconnected. According to Magallanes' affidavit, Berendzen had a restraining order against her son that was in effect at the time of her death. Magallanes' affidavit also suggested that Waller had lived with Berendzen for some time before her death.
What we know about Berendzen
Efforts to reach either of Berendzen's other family members proved unsuccessful before the publication of this article. One of Berendzen's sons declined to do an interview. However, an online obituary provides insight into who Berendzen was.
"As a devoted mother of three sons, she supported them in every way she could and instilled in them the importance of honesty, openness, and love," an obituary remembering Berendzen said. "Her selflessness and generosity knew no bounds, and she always had a kind word or deed for those around her."
The obituary says Berendzen was from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Justin Garcia covers public safety and local government in Las Cruces. He can be reached via email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com, via phone or text at 575-541-5449, or on Twitter @Just516Garc.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Details emerge as police charge man with killing his 69-year-old mother
