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In November 2022, 69-year-old Cynthia Berendzen was murdered inside her Las Cruces home by her son, Dillon Waller. The case drew attention due to the deliberate attempts to conceal the crime, including cleaning the scene and staging the circumstances to appear accidental.
Inside the home, investigators found evidence that the scene had been extensively cleaned. The bathroom door was locked, and upon forced entry, Berendzen’s decomposed body was discovered in the shower. The condition of the scene suggested an attempt to stage the death as an accidental fall.
Police began piecing together a timeline of events and quickly focused on Waller after learning he had been seen driving his mother’s vehicle shortly after she was last seen alive. Household items and food were missing from the home, further indicating activity after her death. The vehicle was later located abandoned near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, California. Inside the car were Berendzen’s dogs, which were unharmed. Their microchips helped confirm her identity and strengthened the connection to Waller.