Dad Defends NM Teen Suspect in Homeless Slayings

The father of an 18-year-old murder suspect, one of three Albuquerque teens accused of fatally beating two homeless men, said he can't imagine that his son is the vicious murderer portrayed by police, NBC News reported. Joel Rios visited his son in jail for the first time on Saturday and said everything that's being said about him in the media and by police is "pure lies." Alex Rios, who is being held on $5 million bail, confessed to the fatal beatings and to beating up at least 50 other homeless people in the past year with his two half-brothers, police said. Community leaders gathered at the site of the killings Saturday to commemorate the victims.

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