dateline west mesa murders
they can be. i wasn't done. start with supporting your gut health. served. can you make it look like i'm holding it? but she kept coming up empty. we don't know. For homicide investigators, the case posed challenges from the start, said Dirk Gibson, a communications and journalism professor at the University of New Mexico who has authored numerous books on serial killings. Photo Source [23], In December 2010, convicted Colorado serial killer Scott Lee Kimball stated that he was being investigated for the West Mesa murders, but he denied killing the women.[24]. >> right. as spring turned to summer that, year, dan, his ex-wife, and his daughters plastered flyers with michelle's picture all over central avenue asking anyone who'd seen her to call the albuquerque police department. >> it was growing, and i had kidney cancer. >> reporter: michelle valdez. Downtown Albuquerque as seen from the West Mesa. have a good weekend and have a good night from what is our nbc news head quarters here in new york. By 2016, only one detective remained full-time on the case: Mark Marany. This blog features observations from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. >> reporter: oddly enough, the west mesa investigators' good fortune began thousands of miles to the east, in the fall of 2008. that's when crumbling financial markets on wall street caused home construction on the west mesa to grind to a halt. >> he's in the area where the prostitutes frequent. Flickr/Ken LundOne of the suspects, Joseph Blea, was arrested on Albuquerques Central Avenue for exposing himself to a woman. Police haven't ruled out that there might be more victims, and detectives still have multiple suspects, Gallegos said. but occasionally she was able to do some pruning. >> right. >> reporter: and so she learned, about the lives of the women on the street. According to A&E, Jaramillo and a woman named Christine Barber founded an organization to protect sex workers in New Mexico after the discovery of the West Mesa victims in 2009. tw >> reporter: the toll of michelle's addiction on her t younger sister camille is also evident in dan's videos.il as camille becomes a teenager, she no longer seems to want to acknowledge michelle or even have her around. Mesa and their son were shot outside their home, their son was only injured. so i took a picture of the bone. soon could be years. In 2014, a breakthrough on a decades-old case caused Albuquerque police to become interested in Joseph Blea as a suspect for the murders. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. >> you're up half a mile to 3/4 of a mile from any populated area back in the time frame. >> what about those last seven girls? born to move. i never wanna hear you say no, kevin no, kevin! Who are the dominate males, and lesbians in their Tribe? Google MapsWest Mesa Murders satellite photos show the undeveloped land where the victims were discovered. >> reporter: the total body count stayed at 11 sets of adult remains and one fetus. and i kind of was wobbling a little bit, and ida consoled me a little bit and said it's okay, you know, it's okay. now, more than five years after the discovery of bones on the west mesa, albuquerque police are certain of only one thing. helps people find coverage options based on their budget. we had them in the air. >> it's more than just a few. The West Mesa Murders And The Bone Collector Behind Them - All That's If you have any information about the West Mesa murders, or about other missing women related to this case, Albuquerque Police have a dedicated hotline. and i said, look, i'm not running you. i said it's michelle valdez. the odds were good that syllania edwards, like the others, had simply strolled out into the war zone and climbed into the wrong car. Wozniak then staged the crime scene to make it appear as though Kibuishi had been sexually assaulted, suggesting that Herr had committed her assault and subsequent murder and then gone on the run. Please logout and login again. She was convinced he was the West Mesa killer. Does anyone have any theories or info on this one? for the detective who'd long maintained that everybody counts, the existence of that kind of reward was a sign of progress. proven better on pain. did you know her? Lopezs investigation found that close to two dozen women with similar profiles were missing. the mother road's glory days are behind her now. On December 9, 2010, Albuquerque police released six photos of seven other unidentified women who may also be linked to West Mesa. an amusement park so he stepped on the dr. scholl's kiosk. >> reporter: suddenly families who'd once felt isolated in their agony now felt a communal bond. >> last known police positive contact was in denver. >> kind of weird to be able to, you know, call a family and say great news -- >> oh, yeah. it was my gateway to making contact with her and seeing her in person. michelle had just turned 20. a milestone that was not lost on mother or child. >> so you get lucky. 14th birthday michelle valdez gave birth to a baby girl she named angelica. i think because for the first time we had started to put faces on these women and we had explained to the citizens of albuquerque that there weren't just two women that were missing. Crime Junkie. it's not the pretty woman. They think theyre just a bunch of hookers and drug addicts, he said. had been booked. but because doctors caught the cancer early, ida required neither chemo nor radiation therapy. but in the end ida was able to make everybody care. There has been little pressure on the police to investigate.. >> reporter: by the end of 2005 ida had five women on her list who were roughly the same age with similar backgrounds. 55 is a suggestion. 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Police were at a loss. >> she was on my list. >> yes. Albuquerque Police DepartmentJoseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). Ida Lopez was unable to solve the case she was so closely attached to before her retirement and relocation in 2014. until late in the afternoon on february 2nd, 2009. Syllania Edwards, also 15, was the only one not from New Mexico. Although they have had several suspects, two of whom seemed to fit the description quite well, they have yet to find compelling evidence to close the case. to this day faded photos of women on her list hang on her wall, alongside a line of scripture that reads, "nothing is hidden, except to be revealed." Daniel Wozniak, Rachel Buffet: 'Dateline' NBC Follows Plot Twists Of >> mommy's not a grownup anymore -- i mean, a teenager anymore. Janepsy Carballo, Woman Serving Life Sentence in Revenge Killing Between 2002 and 2005, a serial killer who became known as the West Mesa Bone Collector murdered and buried 11 women in the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. [9] The following day the police released an additional photograph of another woman; this woman was subsequently identified by family members, who reported that she had died of natural causes several years earlier. >> all the stars aligned. According to the Albuquerque Police Department, something didn't sit right with Christine Ross when her dog Ruca found a bone on their walk in the West Mesa. Albuquerque detective Ida Lopez took it upon herself to uncover the story behind the remains of 11 women and an unborn fetus, which were discovered over 13 years ago, buried in shallow graves in a West Mesa desert. Ive been looking for a cast on yhis case. but the mesa, a vast expanse of desert west of town where people frequently dump things they no longer have any use for, was simply too big an area to launch, a search based on just a rumor. 10 Years Later: Community Pays Respect For West Mesa Murders they said it wasn't common in women and it wasn't common in women my age. detectives thought they knew about that killer. the first words out of this girl's mouth was that he was trying to kill her. >> reporter: of course all that changed once bones started. Ross walked her dog, Ruca, along along a dried-out wash in Albuquerque, New Mexico. >> yes. December 2006. but guess what? Mesa murder suspect found in Texas after collaborative investigation >> i didn't even -- i didn't even want to be around it anymore. News and Information, Talk and Interview NEW S31 E19 | 02/26/23 The Window WATCH LATEST EPISODE. Thats why the West Mesa killer was able to do it, she said Christine Barber, the head of Safe Streets New Mexico, a non-profit that helps get women off the streets. >> a suspect caught in the act. It's no secret. [9][22] They confiscated "tens of thousands" of photos from the man, who reportedly used to visit the state fair in Albuquerque. Both had disappeared after walking to a local park in 2004. aleve pm. Although Montoya fit the description, the West Mesa serial killer remains unidentified. that nobody really ever sees. the news media had shown little interest in the story when desperate family members had come to them asking for help. Daniel Patrick Wozniak (born March 23, 1984) is a former American community theatre actor who was convicted of two counts of murder in September 2016. ready, set, go. "They did an excellent job with our West Mesa murders," said Sgt. By (61264) First Published: 1:46 PM PST, February 4, 2022 The police launched a manhunt for the prime accused, 45 yo Hemraj , a live-in domestic help employed by her family. Dateline : MSNBCW : July 20, 2019 12:00am-2:00am PDT - Internet Archive >> i find a girl with the same background. >> reporter: it was in denver, another city on the circuit, that detective todd babcock hit paydirt. >> it's -- i know she had been to albuquerque at least one prior time. lengthy delays in reporting missing people as missing. they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. Furthermore, Police encountered Blea nearly 140 times between 1990 and 2009, often in drug-heavy areas that the victims were known to frequent. She was found buried next to her 27-year-old cousin, Evelyn Salazar. Janepsy "Cindy" Carballo Convicted For Revenge Killing Of Illam Nissim 'd, and it was her, and they found, you know, she was pregnant. >> there used to be a motel here. awesome. She compiled a list of the missing not all of whom have been found, raising concern there might be more victims. By 2006, development had encroached on the area, and soon after, the site was disturbed, buried, and platted for residential development. and if they weren't on the mesa, where were they? Paleontologists In China Just Discovered A Prehistoric Egg Fossil From A Nearly Human-Sized Turtle With A Baby Inside, How A 200 Pound Order Of Meat And A Nosy Upstate Cop Nearly Vanquished The American Mob, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. daughter's comings and goings for years. "he later navigated northward, leaving progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. but michelle eventually dropped out of school.mi for a while she tried to support herself and angelica with a series of minimum wage jobs but couldn't make ends meet. These are the eleven victims identified in as being found in the dumping ground in the West Mesa. SERIAL KILLER: West Mesa Murders | Crime Junkie Podcast help heal your skin from within. >> it's desert. Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). searching for clues in a crime scene big enough to be seen from space. >> i just always felt that if you find one you're going to find them all. West Mesa Serial Killer Satellite Image - lasopahc everyone. >> reporter: after college ida graduated from the police academy and joined the force as a uniformed officer.ol >> most of my areas that i ce worked, especially patrol, i was assigned working the prostitutes in the area. Anyone with information on the West Mesa murders is urged to contact (505)-768-2450 or @CrimeStoppersNM You can also contact Investigator Ida Lopez at ILopez@cabq.gov. long. i took her to a friend's house and dropped her off there. he's just an individual that came to our attention that we had to follow through. >> this in a way suggests that maybe there are women out there who aren't on any list. so come ask, shop, discover at your xfinity store today. in this 2002 image of the area where the bones were discovered there's nothing unusual. The cases remain unsolved with no arrests. she struggled to hold it all together. But most of the other victims vanished with even fewer details. maybe he knew where the money was going to go. >> no. According to police reports, she might have gone by Mimi or Chocolate while staying at the Ranger Motel. licking, scratching, scooting, and rubbing may be signs of allergic itch, a medical condition that may require fast-acting, prescription apoquel. >> not for you. In one incident years before the West Mesa murders, police searched his car after a woman said he had exposed himself to her. Barela was last seen at a family gathering, which she and Salazar left for a park on San Mateo and Gibson Boulevard, near the airport. and all but one, a juvenile, had lengthy arrest records for drugs or prostitution. thank you. and we got a list of names. >> yes, he was. >> reporter: both of those. >> fbi agents also searched this home. i'm guessing you noticed before anybody else. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. and ida lopez couldn't help but wonder if these dry bones were the women she'd been looking for. >> reporter: cops call this section of central avenue the war zone. The Turner Report: Dateline traces West Mesa serial killings - Blogger [18][19], No official suspects have ever been named in connection with the murders. >> what'd the police tell you? >> tough questions for her boyfriend. now that two women from ida's list had been identified, jolene had an idea. ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. To this day, the case remains unsolved. (NBC) "Dateline NBC" will air a two-hour special Friday on the latest in the investigation into the murders of the University of Idaho students Ethan . She was from Lawton, Oklahoma, and was reportedly last seen in Denver, police said. and the women who work its. Dubbed the West Mesa Murders, they sparked a frenzy of investigations, interrogations, and media attention, but despite the best efforts of police to bring whoever was responsible to justice, the crimes remain unsolved to this day. A two-hour NBC Dateline special about the 2014 Fayetteville murder of James Allan Chambers II will air Friday at 9 p.m. . and that was the last time i seen cinnamon. by 2002 the wear and tear is written all over her face. >> i don't believe so. >> reporter: then came seven. high school, college. I think there's a Disappeared episode relating to it as well. We'll do better next time, I promise! [19][21], In August 2010, police searched several properties in Joplin, Missouri associated with local photographer and businessman Ron Erwin in connection with the West Mesa cases. it was a fetus. A sinister force seems to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. >> she didn't want to be found. "You can't have a colder cold case," Gibson said. and she's alive. and the devoutly religious detective knew she needed all the help she could get. "They didn't deserve what they got. and so this case was going nowhere. and there's so much work that's always done behind the scenes to get them identified. -what? and i said, you know, what are you talking about? Fortunately, the detective came back on a contractual basis to investigate the West Mesa murders. "Dateline NBC" Somebody's Daughter (TV Episode 2010) - IMDb >> reporter: for medical investigator wendy honeyfield the bones of jane doe number 7 and her pink-tipped acrylic nails were a beguiling puzzle. michelle had already been busted for receiving and transported stolen property, drug possession and car theft. However, the Albuquerque Police Department refuses to lose all hope and continues working on it with whatever leads they have. >> reporter: six weeks after the digging began out on the west mesa, even more sets of remains were identified. >> reporter: though both dan and camille valdez believe michelle's killer is still alive, dan prefers these days to dwell on the things he knows for sure. >> we don't know if it's somebody that lives here or somebody that would just come back and frequent albuquerque on a regular basis. and there were certain processes that it did pose a concern. -i know. 's criminal investigations unit, says the department chased leads all over the country, from texas, where a woman with profile similar to those of the west mesa women-v also gone missing. paws down. eventually, ida and the cold case detective were able to persuade the department to let them form an unofficial task force, where once a month they met with other agencies, including the fbi. >> oh, yeah. and it was here while posing as a decoy during prostitution sting operations that she learned the raw power of their addictions. The crime episode will also show how the murder of another man named Ilan Nissim is connected to this case. >> frightening. because deep within your skin an overly sensitive immune system could be the cause. >> reporter: by now the street alongside the desert crime scene was a media encampment, where reporters were predictably live at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00. sometimes reporting details that crime scene commander paul feist preferred to keep secret. >> reporter: those were long nights, filled with bittersweet memories of michelle the way she used to be, before the drugs took over. sometimes because she avoided z the camera. is that what we're looking at here, is you're interested in seeing what photos this man took and whether he found anything in them? >> in death as in life? >> reporter: nine months after the discovery of the first bone on the west mesa the detectives were back to square one. i just could feel all the strength in my body just kind of just drain all of a sudden. I have a friend who was in a relationship with one Adrian P. Trujillo. and i don't have phone records. what's going on out here? sometimes in the middle of her work week the albuquerque detective feels a pressing need, for spiritual solace and divine guidance. Then, learn about six serial killers who were never caught. The victims included two teenagers and a pregnant woman. they had the big telescoping lenses. some of it seemed to take. Globe staff photographer Ron Erwin would like to shed the suspected serial killer tag. >> no. She alerted the police, and Ray was arrested. >> it gathered a lot of attention because we had to utilize the fbi. Be the first one to comment on this story. and i'm happy and satisfied with that. >> we had gotten a call from a family friend of ours that i grew up with, and you know, i pick up the phone and she's like, oh, my gosh, i'm sorry about your sister. the hardest part of this whole thing is having to go to somebody's house and say we. for all-day, all-night protection. i've been -- you know, i've been raped a number of times. because deep within your skin an overly sensitive immune system could be the cause. >> i'm still right down the middle of the fairway on this, right? i mean, that's not exactly, you know, the premier detective job. they came up with their profile of who they thought we were looking for, including that profile was a white male. you know, we could chase them out, but for me there was always a story to them. she hunted the guilty. Two years later a local family of four, the Wagners, are arrested and charged with the crimes. The names of the 11 victims of the West Mesa Murders are: Monica Candelaria, 22 - Her friends told police in 2003 that they heard Monica had been murdered and buried in West Mesa. after months of digging for bones in the desert west of albuquerque, detectives desperately wanted to get on with the work of catching a killer. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. and that's when angelica looked at me and started crying. lending tree made lenders compete for my business and i ended up with a loan that saved me over $9000 and no more credit card debt. -what teach here isn't telling you is that snapshot rewards safe drivers with discounts on car insurance. She also told them that he threatened "to kill me and bury me in lime.". She took a picture and messaged her sister, a registered nurse who confirmed that it was. Thirteen Years of Silence: The West Mesa Murders In 2009, the bodies of 11 women were found in multiple shallow graves on the West Mesa of Albuquerque but the cases remain unsolved. Dateline - NBC.com Compelling mysteries, powerful documentaries, in-depth investigations. >> no. New Mexico State University", "Fair prostitutes help West Mesa murders", "The Untold Truth Of The West Mesa Murders", "APD Talks 10-Year Investigation Into West Mesa Murders", "The West Mesa Murders And The Bone Collector Behind Them", "Updated: Seven years later, one detective remains on West Mesa killings", "AMW Fugitives West Mesa Bone Collector Case", "Women's photos may link to mesa murders", "West Mesa Serial Killer--$100,000 Reward", "Lawton girl was only teen in mass grave", "Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation (warning: content may be disturbing for some people)", "Police identify 2 women from photos, both alive", "Dateline To Air Story on West Mesa Deaths", "West Mesa Bone Collector Albuquerque NM", "Police Pursue Possible Leads In West Mesa Cases", "Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation", "Joplin man says he has been cleared of suspicion in serial murders", "Colorado killer quizzed in mesa murders", "Does APD have a suspect in the West Mesa Murders? i used to live actually behind there when i was in college. even thinking about the aerial photos evidence gives me chills to this day. activia. yes, i pray that they're okay. you know, i was always the tag-along with her and her friends. >> reporter: lorenzo montoya, a short, powerfully built man in his 30s who was known to have an, equally short temper and a taste for prostitutes. They founded Safe Streets New Mexico in response to the threats sex workers face in the state and the lack of attention paid to violent crimes against them. you're keeping that quiet because you don't want somebody to confess to this who didn't do it. Several suspects have been named, but none were arrested or charged. so, let's make this the summer of loving your gut. born to move. Her organization recently gathered the notes from the women it meets with weekly. Or contact APD at 1-877-765-8273 or (505) 768-2450. read more West Mesa Killer Satellite Image Credits. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. >> the reality is it was kind of like this is not happening. A North Miami woman bent on revenge was convicted Wednesday of gunning down the ex-business partner she blamed for the murder of her alleged drug-dealer husband. He choked her to death, and when the woman's boyfriend/pimp came looking for her, he shot and killed Montoya. West Mesa murder victims Evelyn Salazar, left, and Cinnamon Elks. happy birthday that september angelica celebrated her sixth birthday. Today, two suspects remain only of whom is still alive. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. >> investigators are looking for connections. According to the El Paso Times, the presence of Syllannia Edwards among the victims has led authorities to believe that sex trafficking gangs could have been involved. >> these are hurting women. it was comforting that it didn't just happen to me. >> -- your daughter's a prostitute. he killed her, wrapped her body. i enjoyed it. i sat in many waiting rooms, and i said, i don't want to know what their sessions were about. >> reporter: so detectives started checking with police departments and jails throughout the southwest on the hunch that syllania, as young as she was, might have been entangled in a. prostitution circuit that shuttles women from city to city. flo has it, i want it, it's a whole thing, and she's right there. >> reporter: for the detectives who were trying to catch a serial killer those remains represented a wild card with staggering implications. >> for a long time the news would be full of stories about girls who were missing and everybody's looking for them. Dateline Full Episodes. >> when you ask them how many bad dates have you had? yeah. >> reporter: -- no one who seemed to know something about the five-year missing persons cases was dialing the phone. >> and if he is, it may only be a matter of time. 12-year-old daughter, angelica. Sorry! Valdez disappeared from Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 22, 2004. we had things that we wanted to keep very secret, or things that we didn't want released. >> when they told us that they had a young black girl, i thought, i didn't have a young black girl on my list. Joplin man says he has been cleared of suspicion in serial murders out in the war zone there's a new crop of ragged women on the streets, willing to sell themselves in return for a puff of smoke from a glass pipe. n.d then there was the service part, the helping people part of police work. [9][14] Police would not say how or where they had obtained the photos. >> when they found the second, third, and fourth sets i said to myself i have to realistically look at this, that michelle i'm sure probably is out there. The case remains unsolved till date, with eight girls still missing. i'm just a normal person. There hasnt been the degree of public fear and alarm that you might expect. >> reporter: soon there were five missing women with eerily similar profiles on ida's list. >> reporter: this killer had seemingly left nothing behind but a pile of dry bones. ida went by the book. i have no idea how she got here. Download Dateline The Collector MP3 - Gaanamusic.live >> we believe that's him. cinnamon was a name on ida's list. southwestern summer heat begins to ease hot air balloons rise like spring flowers over albuquerque and the surrounding desert. just desert and sage brush with a dry stream bed running through it. >> i needed to know where they were all the time. but on the periphery in offhand moments dan's camera also caught something else.me the look and the unspoken despair that signaled the death. >> reporter: for detectives like todd babcock it all seemed to add up. Afterwards, Wozniak dismembered Herrs body by removing his limbs and head. >> reporter: it would become a close working relationship based on frequent phone calls and mutual admiration. All of the women were Latina and all were from New Mexico, except Syllannia Edwards, who was African American and from Oklahoma. that changed when michelle failed to show up for angelica's seventh birthday party. except their families. At first, it was like any other Monday night, but Feb. 2, 2009, would stick with Christine Ross forever. >> reporter: mostly she just watched it grow.