Authorities are not sure how, or even whether, a triple stabbing and a suspected arson that involved some of the same parties, that occurred on the same County Road and within a day of each other are related.
No arrests have been made in either case and many details are still unclear to police.
The stabbing occurred Sept. 18 at a home on Rio Arriba County Road 430 in Coyote, according to State Police.
Two brothers and one other man sustained stab wounds in a late-night brawl, Sgt. Chris Valdez said. Jacob Salazar, 20, was stabbed in the stomach, brother Eric Salazar, 17, was stabbed in the back, and Eric Espinoza, 34, had a stab wound to one of his arms, Valdez said.
All three men were transported to either Española or St. Vincent Hospital for treatment.
The fight broke out in the backyard of Espinoza’s home, Valdez said. The three men and numerous other people attended a barbecue earlier in the evening at a house down the street, then moved to Espinoza’s to continue drinking, Valdez said. The actual stabbings occurred around 2 a.m. in Espinoza’s yard, which had no lighting, so witnesses had trouble describing exactly what happened. Police estimated approximately eight or nine people, including the victims, were present when the stabbing occurred, and are still conducting interviews.
No knives were found at the crime scene. Police aren’t sure yet whether the victims stabbed each other or if one or more other people were responsible. Eric Salazar claimed he was pulling his brother off Espinoza when he felt someone stab him in the back, but that was contradicted by a witness statement, Valdez said.
Just a day later, on Sept. 19, a mobile home Espinoza was living in with a woman named Lupe Salazar was destroyed in a fire that authorities believe may have been an arson.
Coyote and Lindrith firefighters responded about 2:50 p.m. to the fire at a single-wide trailer located on County Road 430, Coyote Fire Chief Eliza Martinez said. The residents were not at home, and the home was a total loss, Martinez said.
Martinez said the fire, which is being investigated as a possible arson, may have been related to an incident at the home earlier in the week, presumably the stabbing, but she declined to speak further about the fire.
Valdez said the stabbing and the fire occurred at different residences.
There are also some questions of how everyone involved in the two incidents are related. Valdez said a nephew of Espinoza’s told him Tuesday that Espinoza and Lupe Salazar are married and that the two Salazar brothers are her cousins; but Valdez was not able to confirm that information.
Valdez said the only indication he has that the two events are related was that the 911 dispatcher who informed him of the fire said it may be related to the stabbing. He said he is waiting on reports from an officer at the scene of the fire and the state Fire Marshal’s office.
Rio Arriba County Fire Marshal Jerome Sanchez said he expected to hear something this week about the cause of the fire.
“I don’t know if it’s going to point to any one person or not,” Sanchez said.