Man who ran over and killed security guard at Albuquerque church sentenced to life in prison

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – Marc Ward faces life in prison for intentionally beating and killing a security guard at an Albuquerque church before being released. On Monday, Ward faced the family of the man he killed.

Ward was convicted of first-degree murder in March for killing 61-year-old Daniel Bourne, who was working as a security guard at Calvary Church when Ward ran him over in 2022. “Because of Marc Ward’s actions that night, I can’t call to hear his voice, I can’t ask him for life advice or share hobbies with him, and I can’t call him and tell him what my husband or my son are up to,” said Jamie Blasé, Daniel Bourne’s eldest daughter.

The murder occurred on September 23, 2022, when victim Daniel Bourne was checking out what he believed to be a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of Calvary Church on Osuna near Jefferson.

Ward, who had been attending the church, was driving a truck. As Bourne approached the truck, Ward ran over him twice and then dragged Bourne’s body to a nearby creek.

On Monday, Ward’s family stressed that Bourne was an innocent man who was murdered in cold blood. “I don’t care if this next sentence makes me a bad Christian, but I hope that when your time comes, you burn in hell for your crimes. I really hope that in time I will learn to forgive you for killing my father,” said Courtney Bourne, Daniel Bourne’s daughter.

“I ask him to keep his apology to himself because even if he had had one from that night to this day, he has not uttered it because it might not have helped him at trial or today at the verdict,” Bourne said.

Because Ward was convicted of premeditated murder, he faces a life sentence. He will be eligible for parole after 30 years in prison. Ward apologized for the crime in court on Monday afternoon, but offered no explanation for why he killed Bourne.