Fort Sumner double-homicide suspect remains in jail

A Fort Sumner double-homicide suspect remains in the DeBaca County jail on his attorney’s advice as the two men prepare for the defendant’s preliminary hearing.

Kelby Randolph, 53, was scheduled for his pre-trial detention hearing Friday but it was postponed until Tuesday. The Friday postponement was to allow time for Randolph to be assigned an attorney.

On Tuesday, Las Vegas attorney Tomas Benavidez appeared in a Google Meets court session as Randolph’s attorney. The two men conferred offline and when they came back, Benavidez said they weren’t ready for a preliminary hearing just yet.

Tenth Judicial District judge Albert Mitchell gave Benavidez three weeks to prepare his case, then adjourned the hearing.

Randolph has been in the DeBaca County jail since Oct. 2 when he was charged with two counts of murder in the first degree in the shooting deaths of Arizona husband and wife Brian Beaver, 48, and Rachelle Beaver, 38.

Brian Beaver’s daughter, Brianna, of Mesa, Ariz. described her father and Randolph as “friends.”

According to DeBaca County Sheriff Robert Roybal, the Beavers had been visiting Randolph.

A message asking for comment from Benavidez was left at a phone number listed as the attorney’s office in Las Vegas.