Hayden Alter was 29 years old. He was working to rebuild his life at a rehabilitation center in Albuquerque when he made the drive to Las Vegas, New Mexico, on May 16, 2025, to see his family. Within days, he stopped answering calls. His family reported him missing on May 21. On June 10, New Mexico State Police found his burned car in rural San Miguel County, with his remains inside.
According to arrest affidavits, Hayden was picked up by two of the people later charged in his death on the night of May 19. He was taken to a home where he was accused of being an informant, punched, and shot. Three people now face charges ranging from first-degree murder and arson to tampering with evidence and witness intimidation. His body and car were burned at a rural ranch roughly 30 miles east of town and discovered 22 days after he went missing.
Hayden's mother Deanna has been direct about that accusation: it was false. In her own words, Hayden was not affiliated with law enforcement or acting as an informant. His commitment, she says, was always to the people he cared about. He was loyal, and he was loved.
That correction matters, because it is Hayden's family who has to live with the accusation that got attached to their son in his final hours. It is also his family who has been carrying the cost of what came after: an ongoing investigation, a case now headed toward trial, and the day-to-day weight of grief with none of it on pause.
The murder trial is currently scheduled to begin September 1, 2026.
Help cover the cost of the investigation and the upcoming trial. GoFundMe, #JusticeForHaydenAlter
If you can't donate, share Hayden's story. The family has asked people to help "shine a light" on his case, so it stays visible as it moves through the courts.
If you know something, say something.
Hayden was 29. He was working to rebuild his life at a rehab center in Albuquerque, and he drove to Las Vegas, New Mexico on May 16, 2025, to see the people who loved him. He deserved to finish that work. What his family is asking of the rest of us is small enough to actually do: give if you can, talk about him if you can't, and don't look away from what happened to him or from the people who are still fighting for him.
Find Hayden's family's fundraiser, #JusticeForHaydenAlter, and share his story using #FriendsOfHaydenAlter.