they came up with their profile of who they thought we were looking for, including that profile was a white male. their lifestyle has been with drugs. >> probably because he felt safe out here. At first, it was like any other Monday night, but Feb. 2, 2009, would stick with Christine Ross forever. >> she knew that there was events at the house because she'd call and ask if she could borrow $25, she was hungry or whatever. >> he may be waiting in some other community to start doing the same thing again. New Mexico Authorities Offer $100,000 Reward for Help Solving West Mesa Murders of 11 Women and Unborn Child . when a stolen car rap in arizona landed michelle in jail, dan says he bailed her out and pleaded with her to change her ways. every morning the sunrises over the sandia mountains east of albuquerque and begins baking one of the most celebrated stretches of asphalt in the united states -- historic route 66, the highway famous for carrying dust bowl refugees and beat generation oddballs west to california. >> there could be somebody up there right now. dateline west mesa murders - wolfematt.com In 2015, Blea was found guilty of sexual assault in charges stemming from incidents in the 1980s and 1990s and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. -[ scoffs ] if you say so. The Bone Collector- 11 bodies were found in the dessert of New - reddit They had picked him up in 1998 when he offered an undercover cop $40 for sex. helps people find coverage options based on their budget. She took a picture and messaged her sister, a registered nurse who confirmed that it was. but for ida lopez the discovery and identification of seven women from her list meant that years of careful detective work were finally paying off. i took her to a friend's house and dropped her off there. her name was syllania edwards. Crime. "Dateline NBC" Plot Twist (TV Episode 2016) - IMDb West Mesa murders subject of two-hour Dateline tonight - Blogger On December 9, 2010, Albuquerque police released six photos of seven other unidentified women who may also be linked to West Mesa. Police were at a loss. I just saw the Dateline of the West Mesa Murders and am blown - reddit forgotten by almost everyone but her. American convicted of murder on death row, Dr. Phil: Was She an Accomplice to Murder? Known as the West Mesa killings, the victims' deaths have resulted in no arrests, despite the massive homicide investigation police launched after discovering the makeshift graves. She was convinced he was the West Mesa killer. Wikimedia CommonsDowntown Albuquerque as seen from the West Mesa. By (61264) First Published: 1:46 PM PST, February 4, 2022 the hard part was that many of them had already been missing for more than a year before ida even had a chance to start looking. memorial came to life alongside the wall that bordered the desert crime scene. By Marlene Lenthang, MaryEllen Resendez, Jennifer Pirone, and Amanda Karrh May 21, 2021, 9:22 AM 6:56 Single mom Paige Birgfield goes missing in a small Colorado town: Part 1 >> and just depending on where they're at, you wouldn't even see them up there. Going to listen. "You have to know people, their names and what they look like to know people are missing," she said. [ camera clicking ] wifi up there? Despite the jewelry, underwear, and other evidence that appeared to connect him to the case including the testimony of a former cellmate who said that Blea claimed to have known and hired the West Mesa victims and called them "trashy" police have still been unable to conclusively tie him to the murders. [6], An extensive manhunt for Herr was launched by authorities who at that point still believed Herr was responsible for Kibuishi's murder and was on the run. Street Safe was founded in 2009, aiming to ensure volunteers kept a steady presence in an area along Historic Route 66 while handing out clothing and other products each Friday. and if they weren't on the mesa, where were they? The Albuquerque officers did not say that Erwin was a suspect. >> yeah. no fingerprints. i enjoyed it. >> reporter: at 14 most kids rightfully think their best years are ahead of them. Murder. >> i know 100% that my daughter is not alive. Authorities Offer $100,000 Reward for Leads in Murder of 11 Women Wozniak was deeply in debt and wanted money to finance his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. the gruesome cult sacrifice of Mark Kilroy. geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. they were there constantly. glad i could help. On May 21, 2010, Wozniak shot and killed his neighbor, Private First Class Samuel "Sam" Herr, a 26-year-old Afghanistan War veteran, at a Los Alamitos theater. and sometimes you've just got to stop and smell the savings. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. >> reporter: mostly she just watched it grow. every chance that i had i had the videotape there. that nobody really ever sees. >> i would tell them every single day we're one day closer to finding your daughter. 2015. In May 2010, Wozniak killed his neighbor and friend, Private First Class Samuel Eliezer "Sam" Herr, and Herr's friend, Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, as part of a plan to frame Herr for Kibuishi's murder and steal his combat pay. In a major plot twist, as they were about to be married, one had something to confess and the other dealt with the fallout. However, two names have been widely. i love you, hon. >> it's kind of eerie looking at those satellite photos. >> she searched for the innocent. Over time, a number of men have attracted police attention, though not named as full suspects, in connection with the murders. but ever since her early days in uniformed patrol, ida lopez has called them her girls. and do you use that profile and rule somebody out just because they're not on that profile? >> was it possible ida lopez's list was just the tip of the iceberg? New Mexico 'serial killer' murdered 11 women in unsolved case, 8 it was my gateway to making contact with her and seeing her in person. southwestern summer heat begins to ease hot air balloons rise like spring flowers over albuquerque and the surrounding desert. if the serial killer who preyed on their city is still alive, he's probably moved on to another hunting ground. believe it! him. Police also saw him stalking sex workers after the West Mesa murders. we had to utilize the joplin police department. clustered within 20 yards of each other. so i keep them, do my full boheh background on them. on the Internet. and you never know how your skin will look. >> reporter: and it's not just there for inspiration. [11], On September 12, 2018, Buffett was convicted on two of those counts with a maximum possible sentence of 44 months and, on November 8, 2018, was sentenced to 32 months minus time served and good behavior. on July 20, 2019. thank you for being here with us. all the remains. and it's almost frustrating because you look at this picture, and you see the disturbed earth which later we learned are grave sites, and you see the tire tracks. i mean, you'll see some out here that they need that fix. Tonight's Dateline episode entitled Miami Heat will focus on the tragic events that led up to the fatal shooting of Orlando Mesa and 18-month old Noah 'Noa' Mesa, who survived the brutal attack. she gets out of her car and comes up to me. >> a college campus gripped by fear. starts help healwith -hi!mplewithin. >> reporter: dan valdez, who'd been wondering for years where his daughter was, saw his most cherished hopes and his most dreaded fears placed on a collision course. >> i have to keep believing that we'll find an answer soon. click, call, or visit a store today. i miss you, hon. you know, maybe we ought to run that list. at first some of them were hesitant. 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. sure, why not? make that phone call to us and we can link that individual to these crimes that have occurred here in albuquerque. ask your veterinarian about apoquel today. Crime Junkie. >> did you believe her story? you know, it seems like they knew or something. by then dan and michelle's mother were divorced, and dan was raising michelle and camilln alone while working days at the juvenile detention center. >> reporter: over the years ida's career blossomed. didn't look like the normal animal bone you find out here. >> you're finding this, and you're just going, i wonder if it's going to be the rest of the girls. Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said detectives receive hundreds of tips in the case each year, and continue to follow different leads while retesting evidence as DNA and other investigative technology advances. Her skeletal remains were found at a construction site in the West Mesa area of Albuquerque in February, along with the bodies of many other victims. 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. don't lie to me." Janepsy Carballo, Orlando Mesa: Dateline NBC's 'Miami Heat' Episode She was found buried next to her 27-year-old cousin, Evelyn Salazar. The fact that all but one of the victims had links to sex work initially helped guide the police investigation for the serial killer they dubbed the West Mesa Bone Collector. But not even FBI profilers were able to find the killer. >> she came over to the house one day, and i'd given her a few dollars, and she stood up. >> reporter: in that time the case has gone from a nightmare for a few flawed souls to a nationwide search for a serial killer, an unidentified man who police believe may not have succeeded in killing every woman he coaxed into his car. After authorities unearthed the remains of 11 women and one unborn child, they feared the worst: They were dealing with the city's first serial killer. shocking talk on the streets. high school, college. that dares to last into the morning. i used to live actually behind there when i was in college. they had the big telescoping lenses. ", "Accused serial rapist, West Mesa murder suspect sentenced to 36 years in rape case", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Mesa_murders&oldid=1140315217, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 14:32. i mean, that's not exactly, you know, the premier detective job. >> it's desert. The process repeated itself in more or less the same way about five years later. they pick up a lot of girls. Most of them hadnt even been reported missing at the time their remains were found. >> that's a possibility. Dateline - alibi.com the boyfriend shot and killed lorenzo montoya on the spot. Investigators have said that nearly all the West Mesa victims, who were between the ages of 15 and 32, worked as prostitutes . Google MapsWest Mesa Murders satellite photos show the undeveloped land where the victims were discovered. the first thing is they were human beings to begin with. >> when was the last time you saw her? >> she ran up ahead of me, and she was messing with something on the ground. Uploaded by it was a time when a sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of new mexico's largest city. Combing the undeveloped West Mesa near 118th Street SW, detectives spent weeks uncovering all 11 graves. and i thought, well, i'll write it and we'll see what happens. 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. Her husband, Orlando Mesa, and 18-month-old son were shot just moments after the pair were captured on haunting surveillance camera enjoying the spring evening. a restless night's sleep. and where was he now? and ida says, "dan." It's awful what happened to them," Myra Salazar, the mother of 27-year-old victim Evelyn Salazar, said in a statement. 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. where did she come from? Edwards was from Oklahoma, but was known to have been in Texas and Colorado before ending up in Albuquerque. for the moments that mattered most to her daughter, angelica. Ross walked her dog, Ruca, along along a dried-out wash in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They found rope and electrical tape during the search. >> so what i usually do is i go back to see what their arrest history is. With her call to the Albuquerque Police Department, Ross had begun to expose horrors the city had never seen. activia. City and law enforcement officials have solicited help from the community to solve the West Mesa murders. >> there's probably people that, were in albuquerque during the time frame we're looking at and now through investigative leads or other sources we find something that tells us a little bit more about their lifestyle as well, which would give us again that kind of immediate gut reaction, it's got to be. Ross wasn't sure the bone was human, but knew it could be. >> no. Ive been looking for a cast on yhis case. short lady. West Mesa Murder Victims Jamie Barela Jamie Barela, 15, was last seen with her 23-year-old cousin Evelyn Salazar heading to a park at San Mateo and Gibson SE in April 2004. One day later, Hemraj's partially decomposed body was found in the terrace of the same home. -you're not even enrolled in this class. >> and whatever you tell us, it's no judgment at all. but within a few months of receiving those remains the lab-coated sleuths at the office of the medical investigator began unraveling the riddle of jane doe number 7. >> reporter: detective todd babcock and sergeant lou heckroft drew the job of trying to track downtown killer. 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. In 2005, Ida Lopez, an Albuquerque police detective, also noticed sex workers vanishing. >> that really sends a chill up and down your spine. Dirk Gibson, a communications and journalism professor at the University of New Mexico (Det. who got an awful skin condition. After two trials, killer of Colorado mom of three with secret life In 2005, she was handed two missing persons files including missing 25-year-old Michelle Valdez,. that once she was lost and that now she's found. >> a few years before the first body was found a colleague of mine and i had heard about a list of women that were missing. >> yes. eight. Joseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). heart that day when she wasn't there. >> the numbers grew. >> we went back starting in 2002, and we got the records from our local jail. that's why we're staying with homicidal violence. you're lying to me. by 2002 the wear and tear is written all over her face. >> reporter: in february, five months after michelle was last seen, dan went down to the albuquerque police station and formally reported his daughter missing. [9] Some of the women appear to be unconscious, and many share the same physical characteristics as the original 11 victims. help heal your skin from within. she started keeping a list of missing women who match that profile.wh that was the easy part. a. with xfinity mobile you can bring in your own phone, switch wireless carriers and save hundreds of dollars. of a young girl's dreams. dr. scholl's. Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). there were whole bunches of them. but two years later, in 2004, when most of the women on detective ida lopez's list were disappearing, the images show tire tracks leading from this road to a few bare spots in the vegetation. young hispanic women with arrest records for drugs or prostitution. Wozniak lured Kibuishi to Herr's apartment, where he shot and killed her. Ultimately, a lack of evidence failed to pin the murders on Blea, who is serving a 90-year sentence for sexual assault cases from the 1980s and 1990. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) The notes are written on paper tags, tributes to the nine women, two teenage girls and unborn child found buried 10 years ago atop a New Mexico mesa. i just could feel all the strength in my body just kind of just drain all of a sudden. and i said, you know, what are you talking about? In this Dateline classic, a relaxing vacation turns into a nightmare when Stephen Reitz wakes up to find his girlfriend, Eva Weinfurtner, murdered. and she wanted to be able to provide them with some answers. The police launched a manhunt for the prime accused, 45 yo Hemraj , a live-in domestic help employed by her family. it was all just unverifiable street talk, the kind ida lopez had heard before. advil pm. Albuquerqueans dont relate to the victims. >> it is a lot of shovel and pick work. [9] Police confirmed that they had cleared Erwin as a suspect. If you have information about the West Mesa murders, please contact APD at 1-877-765-8273 or (505) 768-2450. >> 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. He choked her to death, and when the woman's boyfriend/pimp came looking for her, he shot and killed Montoya. she'd come over and steal my things or, you know, i would se' how upset it would make my dad. love for your gut. other times because she simply didn't show up. everything was in a pretty contained area. >> reporter: before long michelle valdez stopped showing up in her father's videos. >> reporter: it was intended to be a low-key search of the man's home and offices. bill's back needed a afvacation from his vacation. i know in my heart i didn't do the right thing, but i knew that the common sense of my brain said that i had to. >> okay. and nights and weekends playing steel guitar with his country band, cimarron. >> 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. >> and i can understand it. Looking back what has changed for women on the streets?". >> reporter: surgeons also removed ida's adrenal gland because it too had a mass on ite. >> i thought ida being a police officer was awfully small. 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. All rights reserved, Privacy Policy|Online Content Agreement, Seven years later, one detective remains on West Mesa killings, Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation. that. Although Montoya fit the description, the West Mesa serial killer remains unidentified. Her organization recently gathered the notes from the women it meets with weekly. All of the women, except 15-year-old Jamie Barela, had one thing in common: They were all involved in drugs and sex work. >> she's like a lot of other cases that we had skeletal remains that come in. only activia has billions of our live and active probiotics. Be the first one to comment on this story. [citation needed], In November 2012, Wozniak's then-fiance, Rachel Mae Buffett, was arrested[10] and charged with three felony counts of accessory-after-the-fact based on allegations that she had lied multiple times to police investigators. >> reporter: and so she learned, about the lives of the women on the street. dupixent is not a steroid, and it continuously treats your eczema even when you can't see it. >> so you get lucky. >> do you think we're dealing with one guy here? West Mesa murder case reaches ten year anniversary. and by the summer of 2009 the fbi and the city of albuquerque were offering $100,000 to anyone who could help them catch and convict the man responsible for killing the west mesa women. sunrise would bring news of his daughter michelle. Blea's wife and daughter claimed to have found jewelry and female underwear that didn't belong to them in their home, and police confirmed this after they searched his home eight months into the West Mesa investigation. There are also photos of possible missing women that are connected to the case. [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. >> you don't remember the last, thing you said to her? the crime lab had determined that one of the unidentified, sets of remains, jane doe number 7, was a young black female. >> it was real hard because you know, i'd be circling the block. Please logout and login again. it's not the pretty woman. it was not the way that her mother and i raised her. and she said no, dad. now that's simple, easy, awesome. That threat and the circumstances of his death led police to suspect that Montoya had been the West Mesa Bone Collector. >> yes. [7], On February 2, 2009, a woman walking a dog found a human bone on the West Mesa, and reported it to police. i'm supposed to be in ceramics. Produced, reported and maintained by Journal staff member. >> it's like being in a race and somebody has a year ahead start. >> reporter: an impromptu. >> you can't. do not use in breeding, pregnant or lactating dogs. After two trials, killer of Colorado mom of three with secret life appeals conviction Lester Jones was found guilty of kidnapping and murder in December 2016. >> reporter: no. doesn't just deal with missing. but years later his death would be just as tough a break for detectives investigating the bodies found on the west mesa. it's one of those timing issues we told you about earlier. so they'll move from albuquerque to phoenix to las vegas to los angeles and maybe not return on that circuit for several years. do you know -- -room 303. >> i see her pull up out front, and i go out and stand on the sidewalk. there's no way. "It appears that some of the women may be unconscious, again we . the drugs. that way, again, so if i were doing a different process or if i was looking at something specific, i needed to know that i didn't have the eyes of america in that hole with me. Police budgets are stretched thin. i mean he's a wreck without me. and most of these boxes were returned. >> it's a lot of people. >> well, they were shocked. Police on Long Island, New York, have released the name of a previously unidentified victim linked to the notorious Gilgo Beach murders. actually, it was my grandfather raised me.ctdehiizedis s co enowas ait wde.lo he was about in his 80s. [8][9], After repeatedly lying to police, Wozniak finally confessed. >> reporter: that he once had a daughter named michelle who was the light of his life. After more than five years of court proceedings, Wozniak went to trial and was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder. those two files would mark the beginning of the biggest case in her career and would turn into pabarmis.markintos most heinouy crime stories. >> what did doctors tell you? help heal your skin from within. The upcoming episode, titled Somebody's Daughter, will air on Oxygen on Tuesday, July 12, at 8:00 PM ET. >> not for you. ), First published on February 2, 2019 / 12:05 PM. definitely. Watch Dateline Mystery Streaming Online - Yidio and what we hope to happen is that someone that's had an encounter with this killer will. [9], The remains discovered in 2009 were identified as those of the following women and girls, all of whom disappeared between 2001 and 2005:[10][11]. She took a picture and messaged her sister, a registered nurse who confirmed that it was. no. Handout from Costa Mesa Police Department -- Anyone who knew Julie Kibuishi described the 23-year-old dancer and college student from Southern California as kind and full of life. >> daddy, can i have something to eat now? -oh, a plaque. Neither woman was. But by 2009, when the bones were discovered, development had erased any hope of automobile evidence. missing persons were attractive women in their 20s, with arrest records for drugs and prostitution.r both had seemingly vanished without a word to friends or relatives. The West Mesa murders || Unsolved serial killer case - Mary Hallberg so you get a lot of that. Dateline Full Episodes. 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. There has been little pressure on the police to investigate.. Someone called Father Reynaldo at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe to provide the last rites to a dying grandfather. and because her wisdom teeth had not fully developed, wendy knew this jane doe was probably only 14 or 15 years old when she, died. Dateline: Unforgettable airs every Tuesday on Oxygen at 8:00 PM ET. Not the clients. Lorenzo Montoya was killed in 2006 at his South Valley home less than two miles from the West Mesa burial site. West Mesa Serial Killer--$100,000 Reward Criminal Investigations Division On Feb. 2, 2009, Christine Ross and her dog Ruca left their home on Albuquerque's west side to go for a walk. >> i looked up to her for many things. Police say a woman walking her dog reported finding what appeared to be a femur on the mesa. >> these are hurting women. and was he still at work? >> and under a desert sky the lost waited to be found. this photo, taken the following year, shows even more bare spots. but she kept coming up empty. bring in your own phone, switch to xfinity mobile and save hundreds of dollars a year. Please enter valid email address to continue. and i thought, well, i need to make further plans. To this day only theories remained. and a few hold hazy satellite images of tire tracks on the desert sand. within weeks of starting her new job, ida was handed two missing persons files. >> reporter: but what kind of man is capable of killing is disposing of 11 women without somebody noticing something.