ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Three teenagers ganged up on two homeless men and fatally beat them before leaving their bodies nearly unrecognizable, Albuquerque police said Sunday.

Alex Rios, 18, and two boys, ages 16 and 15, are being held in Bernalillo County detention facilities a day after allegedly killing the victims in an open field, police spokesman Simon Drobik said.

A criminal complaint filed by police says Rios has been charged with two counts each of murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree felony and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He also faces three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count each of tampering with evidence and robbery.

The younger boys will likely be charged with murder as adults, Drobik said. The Associated Press is withholding their names because of their age.

“I personally, after reading that complaint, was sick to my stomach because of the nature of the violence and the age of the offenders,” Drobik said.