GUILTY NM - Tiffany Boyer, 29, Alburquerque, 16 Aug 2015

Robert McGuire, known as Machete Bob to his friends, was last seen on Aug. 15 at 9417 Juan Valdez SE...

Police believe his disappearance may be related to a woman who was reported missing Aug. 16. Tiffany Boyer, 29, was last seen at the Wal-mart at Academy and Wyoming NE...

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Deputy U.S. Marshals and task force officers arrested three suspects in the “brutal kidnapping and murder” of a woman whose body was recovered near Socorro in 2015, according to a press release sent out by a spokesman...

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Interviews led police to a home near San Mateo and Constitution where they believe Boyer was tied up and beat up. Her killers blamed her for McGuire’s death, believing she falsely accused him of rape and had something to do with his disappearance.

They kept Boyer in a closet, until Stephanie Stepp tried to strangle her, according to police. When she couldn’t, police say William Paul Alexander killed Boyer with a hammer.

Police also arrested Shawna Cannon and Joshua Taramasco on Wednesday for the kidnapping and murder after finding key pieces of evidence.

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Robert “Machete Bob” McGuire’s own fate remained a mystery until this week when court documents obtained by the Journal offered some clarity.

It appears that 44-year-old McGuire may have been killed with a crossbow.

Detectives found his body, clothed only in Hanes briefs, buried in a shallow grave in Valencia County last February, according to court documents filed this week that contradict earlier police statements that the body had not yet been found.

In June, APD was reporting that the body was still missing. APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said that was because saying his body had been found would have “drastically affected this case.”

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Following a seven-day trial, jurors on Thursday convicted a 58-year-old man of first-degree murder and lesser charges in the bludgeoning death of Tiffany Boyer, according to a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office.

William Paul Alexander will be sentenced at a later date.

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Stephanie Stepp pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder, conspiracy and kidnapping and faces a 24-year sentence. She agreed to provide truthful statements in the case, according to court documents. Both Shawna Cannon and Joshua Taramasco pleaded guilty to kidnapping, and Taramasco agreed to provide truthful statements about the case.

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Though he has not been charged with the August 2015 crossbow shooting death of Robert “Machete Bob” McGuire in New Mexico, federal prosecutors Lawrence LaVecchio and Paul Schwartz told the judge Apodaca is still the main suspect in that all too real murder.

Prosecutors said Apodaca told the informant in November 2015 that he had killed McGuire with a crossbow and that he and his girlfriend buried the body in a shallow grave in the desert near Las Lunas, New Mexico.

Apodaca knew that key detail about three months before McGuire’s body was found, buried in a shallow grave in the desert east of Las Lunas, authorities said. Albuquerque police did not reveal any information about the discovery of McGuire’s body until September 2016 – some 10 months after Apodaca’s revelations.

McGuire’s parents, Geraldine and Allen, said Friday they got some measure of comfort knowing that Apodaca is imprisoned. But they said they hope that Apodaca will spend the rest of his life in prison and that prosecutors in New Mexico will eventually file murder charges against him for their son’s death.

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Boyer’s father, Blair Boyer, told Loveless that his daughter was a strong-willed, sassy mother of two who loved helping people and was loved by many. But, he said, she had fallen in with the wrong people.

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The fourth person convicted in the case, Shawna Cannon, who also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, is set for sentencing in March. Alexander’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for early April.

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Shawna Cannon, 40, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to six years in prison followed by three years of probation in the 2015 death of 29-year-old Tiffany Boyer, according to court documents.

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William Alexander was found guilty of first-degree murder following a jury trial and is set for sentencing on April 3.

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On Tuesday, he was sentenced to life plus 36 years in prison after a jury in January found him guilty of first-degree murder and lesser charges. As he handed down the sentence, 2nd Judicial District Judge Brett Loveless said the case spoke to “the abhorrent brutality humanity is capable of.”

Alexander’s three co-defendants, whom his attorney referred to as a “cast of deplorables,” have already been sentenced for their roles in the crime.

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Boyer’s father, Blair, said the sentence came as a relief to his family. He has previously described his daughter as a sassy and strong-willed mother of two who was quick to help others.

“This is the day we can finally close the book on this story and truly begin to heal,” Boyer said in court.

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