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Woman arrested on suspicion of homicide west of Mancos

Debra Gaylyn Riddle accused of second-degree murder
The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman suspected in an alleged homicide west of Mancos along County Road 37 west of Mancos.

The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman suspected in an alleged homicide west of Mancos two weeks ago.

On July 4, a 60-year-old Arizona man was found dead at 7850 Road 37 west of Mancos, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Debra Gaylyn Riddle, 56, who lives at that same address, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder, said Sheriff Steve Nowlin.

Nowlin said the case is under the jurisdiction of the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Will Furse declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

According to case documents from prior reporting, a woman called Montezuma County dispatch about 8:45 a.m. July 4 to report that David Allen Mooney of Chino Valley, Arizona, was unresponsive and not breathing. An ambulance and a sheriff’s deputy were dispatched, and Mooney was pronounced dead at the scene.

It appeared the man had been dead for several hours and had died at the residence, Nowlin said.

The manner of death was not released, and the suspected weapon was not identified. An autopsy was performed, said Montezuma County Coroner George Deavers, but the final report was not complete. Nowlin and Deavers declined to comment further.

Mooney has a residence in Arizona, but he had been working in the area as a truck driver for the summer. He was living at the Mancos residence before his death.

ealvero@the-journal.com



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