ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Investigators with the Albuquerque Police Department tracked down the body of a murder victim taken to the East Mountains earlier this week.

Police located the victim’s body Thursday morning on Route 66, just west of Sedillo Hill. They are waiting to identify the victim until they notify the family about the person’s death.

Detectives arrested Derek DePalma on Wednesday for beating the victim with a wooden bat overnight in the middle of the street in the 200 block of Aztec Road in northwest Albuquerque.

Police reviewed a video from Wednesday, starting at around 12:45 a.m. It allegedly showed a man – identified as DePalma – walking around the victim’s truck as two “thuds” can be heard. Then, it allegedly showed DePalma loading up a motionless body into his truck before driving east.

According to APD, detectives learned the victim was recently evicted from a home they rented to him. They also learned the victim harassed DePalma and his girlfriend Tuesday.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for his property and allegedly found “several small pieces of wood with blood on them” next to his truck. APD’s Real-Time Crime Center captured images of the truck from traffic cameras east of Aztec. Detectives also obtained DePalma’s cell phone number and records, allegedly showing he traveled east on I-40 – toward Cedar Crest – after leaving Aztec.

Investigators obtained location data from his phone, which led them to the body Thursday.

DePalma already faced charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and first-degree kidnapping. Detectives are working with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office to modify the charges.