Kirtland man arrested in death of woman, who dated his dead brother

A Kirtland man with a criminal record dating back to 2005, has been arrested on first-degree murder and tampering with evidence charges. John Ciani, 40, was arrested Nov. 12 and booked into the San Juan County Detention Center for allegedly killing the woman he believed was involved in his brother’s death. The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office will file a motion for a pretrial detention hold to keep him in jail until trial. Ciani is accused of shooting Lovina Carpenter, 29, in the face, causing “lethal trauma to the brain,” according to the affidavit for arrest warrant. A friend of Carpenter’s notified the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 9 that no one had heard from Lovina, and they were concerned, the affidavit said. When deputies went to her home on County Road 6351, they found Carpenter dead in a shed on the north side of her property, the affidavit said.

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