Luis Acosta, 19, of Ranchos de Taos and David Sandoval, 24, of Taos were ordered held without bond Wednesday by state District Judge Peggy Nelson. They are accused of killing Erik Sanchez, 18, of Espanola.

Erik Sanchez’s nude body was found on the riverbank of the Rio Grande below the bridge on November 24^th. The two men are accused of murdering Sanchez by throwing his body from the 650-foot-high Rio Gorge Bridge. On November 23^rd the temperature dropped to 17 degrees Fahrenheit that night. Sanchez was brutally tortured before his death.

Eighth Judicial District Attorney John Paternoster said he would seek the death penalty for both men. The defendants are also being charged with capital murder, first-degree kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery and one count of conspiracy. Paternoster said the men killed Sanchez for his car because they claimed they needed money to buy Christmas presents.

Attorneys Gary Mitchell of Ruidoso and Joe Shattuck of Albuquerque - two of the state's best-known death-penalty defense lawyers are representing the defendants.

The two men waived their arraignment on the first-degree murder charge. Both men are being held without bond at the San Miguel County Detention Center in Las Vegas, N.M. while they await their trial.

Acosta and Sandoval had seen Sanchez cruising in his metallic teal 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix. They followed him to a car wash and waited for him to finish washing the vehicle. They approached Sanchez with a gun, commandeered the vehicle and kidnapped him.

Taos County Undersheriff Charlie Martinez said Sanchez was beaten and strangled with the shoelaces from his own sneakers. Thinking Sanchez was dead, the men drove him to the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge, Martinez said.

First they tried to take him to an abandoned mineshaft, but the vehicle could not make it over the rocky road. The men began to get angry because they could not find a place to dispose of Sanchez.

They made him strip off his clothing while being pistol-whipped. After attempting to strangle Sanchez they drove to the Gorge Bridge. Acosta and Sandoval were dragging him from the vehicle when he regained consciousness and tried to escape. The two men overpowered him as he tried in vain to get away. They first tried to toss him over the railing but he clung to the side of the bridge. Finally, they managed to get him over the railing but when they let go he held onto the rail with his hands and legs. They pried his legs loose as he dangled by his hands. They kicked at his hands, which were growing numb and eventually he fell to his death because the freezing temperature made it impossible to hold onto the rail. The last thing Sanchez heard before he landed was Acosta and Sandoval laughing loudly.

Sandoval and Acosta then drove Sanchez’s car to Mexico where they expected to get $3,000 and drugs for selling the customized car.

Taos police got a tip that the men had taken the vehicle to Mexico. Taos detectives located Acosta and Sandoval in Mexico and the men agreed to meet the Taos detectives for questioning.

At the questioning both men appeared wearing some articles of Sanchez’s clothing. They were promptly arrested and brought back to New Mexico to face murder charges.