SOCORRO, N.M. (KRQE) – A Socorro man will continue to spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital for killing his father with a pickaxe.
The State Supreme Court upheld Manuel Baca’s commitment to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas.
In 2016, Baca killed his father Fidel Baca Sr. He never faced trial because he was found incompetent.
Baca’s attorney says the murder happened in a “delusional frenzy” and was not premeditated, however, the justices ruled there was enough evidence to uphold his commitment.