The father charged in his 11-month-old son’s death remains jailed while New Mexico courts await a forensic evaluation.
GALLUP, N.M. — The criminal case against John Hannon in the death of his 11-month-old son has been paused for a competency review, slowing a prosecution that began with a missing-child report and quickly became one of the most disturbing homicide cases to emerge from San Juan County this year.
Hannon, 43, is charged with first-degree felony child abuse resulting in death and second-degree felony tampering with evidence after authorities found his son dead in a remote area near Flora Vista on Feb. 9. Court records and later reporting say the child, John “JJ” Teigue Hannon, suffered a skull fracture and had dirt in his airway. Those details gave the case immediate urgency. The later court pause has shifted focus from the initial search to the question of whether Hannon can understand the proceedings well enough to face trial.
The court path has been unusual from the start. Prosecutors filed charges on Feb. 11 and sought pretrial detention because of the nature of the allegations and Hannon’s criminal history. That same day, one district judge recused himself. In the days that followed, other judges also stepped aside, and the case was reassigned until District Judge Bradley Keeler took it over. At a Feb. 24 detention hearing, defense attorney Nicole Hall signaled that she wanted a competency review instead of moving directly into the detention fight. On Feb. 25, she formally asked for a forensic evaluation, writing that she had a good-faith belief Hannon might not be competent to stand trial because he did not understand the charges and appeared to have memory issues. Keeler then transferred the case to the competency docket on March 3.
The allegations underlying that paused case trace back to Feb. 7, when investigators say Hannon took JJ and a 4-year-old child on a walk toward a nearby Dollar General. Krystal Phillips, the children’s mother, later told deputies that Hannon returned without the baby and said a grandparent had picked him up. By 9:38 p.m. on Feb. 8, according to reporting based on the arrest affidavit, Phillips called in a missing-child report because she feared something bad had happened. At nearly the same time, deputies were already looking into a homeowner’s report about surveillance video showing a man pushing a stroller through a remote area off New Mexico Highway 516 near Flora Vista.
When deputies followed those leads, the case tightened quickly. They found a stroller in a ditch near the area shown in the video. Investigators later determined the person on the footage was Hannon. Deputies then went to the RV where he was staying. According to KOB, they forced entry after he refused to come out and found him hiding under a blanket. During questioning, officers said he gave conflicting statements about where JJ was. He denied directly hurting the child, but later remarks quoted in reports were more damaging. In one exchange, he said JJ was “hurt bad.” In another, he reportedly admitted to burying the child and said, “I knew he was dead.”
Records described by local outlets added detail to what deputies said they found the next morning. Searchers discovered the child’s body near a ditch on Feb. 9, with the head and left arm buried in dirt while the rest of the body remained exposed. Investigators also reported finding shoe prints tied to Hannon at the scene. A doctor later determined the infant had a skull fracture and forehead abrasion before death, and that dirt in the airway suggested the baby may have still been alive when buried. Authorities have not publicly detailed a motive. The sheriff’s office has said only that the investigation remains active and that it would not release the child’s name publicly out of respect for the family.
The case has also revived attention to events that predated JJ’s death. Reporting from the Durango Herald said Hannon had faced multiple domestic-related criminal charges in 2024 and had been discharged from probation unsatisfactorily. The child’s mother had previously sought a domestic-violence order of protection for herself and her children. The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department also confirmed a history of involvement with the family. Those earlier records are separate from the homicide case, but they have shaped how local officials and the public view the allegations now. Sheriff Shane Ferrari, announcing the charges, said there was “no greater evil” than hurting and killing children and said the family would be supported through the judicial process.
For now, the most important milestone is not a trial date but the forensic evaluation ordered by the court. Its outcome will decide whether the case returns to the regular criminal docket, remains suspended for treatment or moves through some other legal path under New Mexico law.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.