BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
An arrest warrant for an open count of murder has been issued for Leonard Francis Kieren, 60, of Buckeye, Ariz. in connection with the murder of Kathleen Lorraine Vigil, 57, also known as Kathleen Jaramillo, Friday at her home in the San Ildefonso Pueblo area.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Investigators are seeking information on Kieren’s whereabouts and Jaramillo’s sister told the Los Alamos Reporter Monday evening that the family needs the help of the community to find him.
At about 7 a.m., Saturday, November 21, Santa Fe Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Little Bird Road in San Ildefonso Pueblo after a 911 call was placed by a male caller who indicated he had shot and killed Jaramillo and claimed that she was his girlfriend. When the deputies arrived on the scene and entered the residence, they found the body of Kathleen Lorraine Vigil also known as Kathleen Jaramillo.
The Sheriff’s Office traced the 911 call back to a number held by Kieren and they believe he has fled to Arizona. He was last seen driving a white 2004 Dodge Dually pickup with Arizona license plate CFT9569 and may be towing a fifth wheel camper/trailer of unknown make or model.
Kieren should be considered armed and dangerous. He is believed to be in the area of Graham County, Ariz. He is 6’2″ tall, 250 lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Anyone with any information regarding his whereabouts should call the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office at (505) 428-3720.
According to court records, Kieren first called 911 at 6:52 a.m. saying he came home to pick up his girlfriend to leave town for Thanksgiving, found she had been cheating on him and that she “pulled a 9 mm on him”.
“The male says he knocked the 9 mm out of her hands, slammed her on the bed and shot her in the head. In the recording (the dispatcher) is heard asking the male for his name to which he responds, ‘You will find that out’,” the affidavit for arrest warrant states. Kieren the alleged named Kathy Jaramillo as the victim and said the incident happened the previous night at around 11 p.m.
The affidavit states that Kieren again called 911 at 9:52 a.m. saying he needed to make it clear that he hit the victim in the face, put the gun back in her hand, covered her up with a blanket and left the residence. The affidavit also says two friends of Kieren also called 911 around 7:15 a.m. saying Kieren told them he shot his girlfriend with a .357.
The affidavit indicates that deputies spoke to another man who arrived at the secured residence and told them he had been dating the victim for about a month and that when they arrived at her residence around 6 p.m. and was “glaring him down”. He man said Kieren called the victim and told her he was back in town, did not have a key to get into the residence and was going to break in. The affidavit states that the man noted that the victim had told him in the past that she had a roommate named Leonard that she allowed to live at the residence while he was getting back on his feet.
A criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court charges Kieren with open murder and tampering with evidence – a handgun – to throw suspicion of the commission of the crime of murder on the victim.