Police charge man in 2014 Albuquerque cold case killing of woman who worked to help people

Dec. 23—More than nine years ago, Danette Webb was found dead in her home, the 53-year-old was naked, her ribs broken, her hands and mouth bound with duct tape. An autopsy did not land on a cause of death, but Albuquerque police said it was murder.

Clues trickled in over the months that followed, but the death of Webb — known for her outreach work with the unhoused and developmentally disabled in the community — went cold.

That all changed last week.

A man who used to volunteer alongside Webb, Lance Beaton, 59, was arrested Friday and charged with an open count of murder in the 2014 homicide.

Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said authorities "developed a lead" sometime this year that led them to Beaton.

Gallegos did not elaborate on how the lead came about but, according to court records, it was through "additional DNA testing."

Police said Beaton was questioned Wednesday before authorities searched his home and took his DNA, which matched DNA found under Webb's fingernails and on the duct tape binding her ankles.

It is unclear if Beaton has an attorney.

Suzan Hagler, Webb's former partner, said she thinks about her every day. She said she never thought the case would be solved.

"I was in a horrible place when she was murdered, for a very long time," Hagler told the Journal Saturday. "Now it's just bringing up fresh feelings of anger and hurt and sadness and grief."

"But I am so glad that they have someone in custody."

Detectives believe that Beaton copied Webb's house key and broke into her home — believing she was out of town — and killed her during a confrontation, according to court records. Police based the hypothesis on a similar incident a few years earlier, in which Beaton copied a former girlfriend's key and burglarized her home, stealing sex toys and other items.

Police said when they searched Beaton's home on Thursday they found the sex toys that had been stolen in the first burglary as well as a roll of duct tape.

It was on June 30, 2014, that Webb didn't show up to work. That was unusual for her, coworkers said.

Police responded around noon that day to Webb's home in Southwest Albuquerque after concerned coworkers spotted her body through a window. Webb's hands, feet and mouth had been covered with duct tape and a lockbox with $3,000 inside was left nearby.

At the time, friends told police Webb had said that someone had been going into her home "and moving things around" and her keys were missing, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Webb's friends told police they thought her attacker knew her.

It is unclear in the complaint what other investigative steps were taken, as it picks up again on Wednesday, when a detective and FBI agent went to Beaton's home. It is unclear if Beaton was ever a suspect in Webb's death or had been interviewed previously.

Gallegos, the police spokesman, said police "had few leads over the years, but they developed a lead this year that led to a suspect who also worked with Webb at Noonday in the past."

Over the half-hour conversation, Beaton told investigators that he worked with Webb at Storehouse New Mexico, a food pantry, but they weren't really close, according to the complaint. Beaton was able to divulge many details of Webb's life: that she had dated women, spoiled her dogs, enjoyed classic rock and had volunteered to provide resources to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Police said Beaton told them that he knew Webb lived alone and that she had been worried about stalkers after spotting a man following her in a supermarket. Beaton told police he didn't know Webb had died until they showed up at his door and apologized for breaking the news "this way."

"Well, it's not like we were really close," he told them, according to the complaint. When the investigators asked for a DNA sample, Beaton replied he "wasn't really comfortable with that."

Police said Beaton told them he was "wary of law enforcement in general" and that they didn't have his "best interest in mind." Investigators told Beaton it was to verify he wasn't in Webb's home, which he said he had never been.

"I understand what you're saying, but I also know that you're allowed to lie to me and I just don't trust law enforcement," Beaton said, according to the complaint.

Court records show that, a few years before Webb's death, Beaton's ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order alleging that Beaton copied her house keys and broke in when she left town, stealing underwear, sex toys and condoms.

Police said they learned from Webb's coworker that she had planned to go out of town on July 30, but then canceled the vacation at the last minute. Investigators said "it is possible" Beaton broke into Webb's home thinking she was gone, as he did with the ex-girlfriend.

"Based on the fact that Ms. Webb knew Lance Beaton, an altercation ensued between the two," according to the complaint.

Police said they obtained a search warrant for Beaton's home, believing he may be "collecting trophies to use in remembering the crime, possibly for sexual arousal."

"These items would be useful for this purpose for an extended period of time," according to the complaint.

Police said a search of Beaton's home on Thursday turned up cell phones and computers, but they also found the sex toys stolen from his ex-girlfriend in 2011 and a roll of duct tape.

Hagler, Webb's former partner, said she had never heard of Beaton until police showed her his photo on Friday.

"It was a huge relief in a way that there might be some form of justice," she said, growing emotional. "Although there is no real justice in my mind. He deserves to suffer every single day of his remaining life."

Then Hagler thought back to her former partner and close friend, "She had a huge heart for everyone."

"She was the most loving, caring, generous, compassionate person I've ever known."