Brittni Carlini murder case evaporates

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - With one suspect dead from a jail-cell hanging and a grand jury refusing to indict a second suspect, it may never be known for sure who killed Brittni Carlini.

Two men were charged with beating the young Albuquerque woman to death.  But one later killed himself, and his co-defendant is no longer facing murder charges.

Two weeks ago Brittni Carlini, 20, went to Ryan Vigil's house to exchange snowboards, according to investigators. She was never seen alive again.

Two days later her body was found burned and buried on the mesa in Rio Rancho.

That same day Vigil's stepfather told police he found a bloodstained mat in the bed of Vigil's truck. Vigil's mother also claimed she saw him toss a baseball bat into a neighbor's yard.

Ryan later told police that he and Carlini had an argument. However he alleged was Chris Midyette who beat her to death with a baseball bat.

Both Vigil and Midyette were charged with Carlini's murder. Two days after his arrest Vigil hanged himself in his jail cell.

Then on Wednesday KRQE News 13 learned from sources close to the investigation that grand jurors hearing evidence gathered before Vigil's suicide and apparently believed he was lying about Midyette's role in the beating.

A spokesman for the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office said the grand jury found there was no evidence to charge Midyette with murder. He is, however, charged with tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.

The most prison time he faces for those crimes is four years.

Midyette did not make a statement to police after his arrest, so the public has never heard his version of what happened the night Carlini was killed.

Midyette could face additional charges in Sandoval County where investigators said he and Vigil burned Carlini's body and buried it.