ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The murder of a retired Bernalillo County firefighter in his westside home two years ago was solved in just two months. Now, a new documentary is breaking down just how Albuquerque police were able to do it.
In December 2016, Don Fluitt was found stabbed to death in his westside home.
Officer: “Is there anything you can think of at all why someone would want to hurt him?”
Christine White, Fluitt’s ex-wife: “I can’t think of anyone specifically at all.”
A new documentary by Investigation Discovery takes viewers through the murder case, like interviews with Fluitt’s ex-wife, who he was in the middle of a custody battle with, and physical and forensic evidence found at the scene.
“Get those fingernail clippings, so we can try to get a lab analysis done on them,” said APD Detective, Andrew Hsu.
The DNA would pay off months later, but their first big break was what got captured on a neighbor’s surveillance video. It shows a figure purposely tipping over a trash can, then walking back to Fluitt’s home.
“We saw the rouse he used to lay down the trash can, you can almost describe it as an ambush of Don,” said APD Detective Caplan.
The actual crime doesn’t play out on camera but police say after testing, flashes seen in surveillance video prove someone tripped the sensor while sneaking into Fluitt’s garage.
After a three month investigation, detectives determined the shadowy suspect was Terry White, Fluitt’s ex-wife’s new husband, using a combination of DNA evidence, a faulty alibi and a confession White made himself to a cellmate at MDC.
Inmate: “He said, ‘I hit him as hard as I could.'”
White never confessed to police or said why he did it, but Fluitt’s family speculates it was to end the ongoing custody battle.
White was sentenced to 42-years in prison. To watch the full episode, click here.
