Tonight's Dateline http://datl.in/fSpdzC, Anyone with information on the West Mesa murders is urged to contact (505)-768-2450 or. >> reporter: sticking up for victims comes naturally to ida lopez. Between 2001 and 2005, 11 women were buried by an unknown assailant in an arroyo bank on Albuquerque's West Mesa, in an undeveloped area within city limits. "They did an excellent job with our West Mesa murders," said Sgt. dateline west mesa murders - wolfematt.com and was he still at work? 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. A prostitute named Christine said the same year that other prostitutes in that area had become more conscious about watching out . Promising leads became dead ends with every cleared suspect. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. >> maybe there are women out there who aren't on any list. Updated: Jan 13, 2023 / 01:45 PM EST. he killed her, wrapped her body. a meticulous man whose grim will had brought him back to the mesa again and again to bury his victims. >> all six sets of remains were found within 20 yards of each other. >> did you know who cinnamon was? in the grave of jane doe number 8 investigators found a tiny second set of bones. >> he may be waiting in some other community to start doing the same thing again. 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. all of them about the same age,m with a similar look.he all were known to hang out in a section of albuquerque so o notorious that cops call it the war zone. Albuquerque's unknown Serial Killer | Real Life Monsters Who do they party with? In 2007, before the harrowing discovery, the detective reportedly claimed that she had a file of more than 17 women, whom she referred to as "her girls," with similar backgrounds of addiction or prostitution who went missing between 2001 and 2006 from the Albuquerque streets. 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. a detective named ida lopez. how do you keep feeling your best all summer long? make febreze part of your clean routine for whole home freshness. and all had worked as prostitutes on the mean streets of the city's war zone. it led them to a dead end. spots that weren't there before. all you can do is bring them up, nurture them, show them love, attention, appreciation. Fortunately, the detective came back on a contractual basis to investigate the West Mesa murders. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. >> reporter: in february, five months after michelle was last seen, dan went down to the albuquerque police station and formally reported his daughter missing. all of her other victims were local. found her and she's not alive. now no fruit is forbidden. than tylenol extra strength. but police think it wasn't just the balloons he was, photographing. >> 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. >> several of these victims were missing for months before anyone reported them missing. davy. that the chin was specific for me. click, call, or visit a store today. -oh, what am i into? her nose and her eyes were very important. Reported missing between 2001 and 2005, they ranged in age from 15 to 32. >> so at one point at least you're sort of looking at truckers. but you know what? >> reporter: at 14 most kids rightfully think their best years are ahead of them. Genres University of Idaho murders on 'Dateline' 2-hour special that they're actually doing okay. advantage ii, fight the misery of biting fleas. 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. These are the eleven victims identified in as being found in the dumping ground in the West Mesa. 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. that's all we really wanted, just to flash her picture real quick. sad but common, especially for these dark streets where drug addiction and prostitution literally go hand in hand. >> they would say we found a skull that had a lot of hair and she's pregnant. 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. some of it seemed to take. searching for clues in a crime scene big enough to be seen from space. Globe staff photographer Ron Erwin would like to shed the suspected serial killer tag. so, let's make this the summer of loving your gut. >> reporter: many who lost friends and relatives to the west mesa grave digger are convinced there could still be someone somewhere who knows something. memorial came to life alongside the wall that bordered the desert crime scene. >> she searched for the innocent. s i just learned the absolute e dependence on the drug for the girls because there's no way in your right mind you're going to get into a car and do what this person just told you to do. Julie Gonzales, the sister of murder victim Doreen Marquez, told KRQE the . 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. Discovery near mass gravesite leads to fears of more victims in But most of the other victims vanished with even fewer details. and that was the last time i seen cinnamon. it's the same instinct that drew her to police work years ago, when she was a kid, growing up in albuquerque. maybe i did something wrong. not just because of what happens but because of what might have been prevented, missed, or altogether avoided. >> a college campus gripped by fear. In 2005, Ida Lopez, an Albuquerque police detective, also noticed sex workers vanishing. The toddler peddled a small trike across the couple's driveway and out of view of the camera as Mesaa . She compiled a list of the missing not all of whom have been found, raising concern there might be more victims. In 2005, she was handed two missing persons files including missing 25-year-old Michelle Valdez,. 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. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. I just saw the Dateline of the West Mesa Murders and am blown - reddit >> lives alone or is away from home for extended periods of time. >> okay. so why am i still thinking about this? she said, well, dad, i'm going to run. ", "Controversial Show Starring Accused Los Alamitos Killer to Air", "NBC Dateline | FULL EPISODE: Plot Twist", "Daniel Wozniak, Rachel Buffett: 'Dateline' NBC Follows Plot Twists Of Actor In Bizarre Costa Mesa, California Murder Case", "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 7 episode 10 ("Plot Twist")", "20/20: 'Mystery in Apartment 410' Watch Full Episode", "Daniel Wozniak case: Full story of California double murder investigated on '20/20", "Community actor kills veteran, student for money to bankroll honeymoon", "The Perfect Murder | Watch Full Episodes & More! Crime Junkie. According to New Mexico State University, the FBI has investigated long-haul truck drivers as suspects in murders of sex workers along major highways, and authorities have reason to believe that Edwards was one such victim. >> reporter: in addition to victoria chavez and michelle valdez, the others from ida's list were cinnamon elks, julie nieto, veronica romero, monica candelaria, and doreen marquez. >> did you believe her story? Daniel Wozniak, Rachel Buffet: 'Dateline' NBC Follows Plot Twists Of >> reporter: ida lopez began this case with the mantra that everybody counts. >> 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 nights and weekends playing steel guitar with his country band, cimarron. An arrest was made in April 2020, but more people were likely involved. Deadly House of Cards Air Date: September 16, 2011 tbd though she's not on the street as much these days, she is still busy working missing persons cases. that. this is storied territory, where native american tribes, conquistadors, and cowboys once roamed. the families hurt. >> yes. Ida Lopez was unable to solve the case she was so closely attached to before her retirement and relocation in 2014. There are also photos of possible missing women that are connected to the case. who got an awful skin condition. The cases remain unsolved with no arrests. Photos, information and videos from Dateline here. at night dan drove through the war zone. In addition to Barela, Edwards, Salazar, and Valdez, they are: Monica Candelaria, 22; Victoria Chaves, 26; Virginia Cloven, 24; Cinnamon Elks, 32; Doreen Marquez, 24; Julie Nieto, 24; Veronica Romero, 28. a growing list of suspects. >> he's in the area where the prostitutes frequent. Police did promise the families of the victims that justice would be done. but other than that it seemed that, you know, that she was on the up and up and that she was doing -- doing what she could, in her power, and the time that she had to go out and -- out to the streets. a data plan for everyone. She said the organization also will highlight the continued struggles of women living on the margins. >> there could be somebody up there right now. >> on the surface seems like a pretty good suspect. Download Dateline The Collector MP3 - Gaanamusic.live we don't know. and if they weren't on the mesa, where were they? >> you can't say gun, knife, strangulation. >> i looked up to her for many things. About Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. West Mesa Bone Collector - ArcGIS StoryMaps Getty Stock Images . [4] Blea, in the Mid-School rape case, was sentenced to 36 years in June 2015, at 58 years of age. Police budgets are stretched thin. 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. hoping that hers had not. Although the murders stopped after that, police have unfortunately not been able to say without a doubt that Montoya was the serial killer known as the West Mesa Bone Collector. 'Dateline' To Air Story on West Mesa Deaths - Albuquerque Journal The former fiance of a California theater actor who murdered an Afghanistan War veteran and his friend in 2010 was convicted Wednesday of lying to police in an attempt to protect him from. Dirk Gibson, a communications and journalism professor at the University of New Mexico (Det. >> i know 100% that my daughter is not alive. >> 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. >> and you thought, this is it. >> and that's more than just a few guys. we came upon it, and it appeared to be a bone. he wouldn't say what the plans were because the only, you know, close person i knew had cancer and died. within days evidence of one body, had become evidence of two. was a serial killer stalking the women working the war zone? Ominously, Montoya was holding a flashlight when he died while his victim was wrapped in a blanket near his SUV. local station as finding a femur bone. i'm supposed to be in ceramics. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. >> yeah, because based on our experience with crimes of this nature, homicide crimes, when you have multiple offenders, more than one of them, someone's going to talk. >> reporter: commander feist, who tried to keep the local press at arm's length during the excavation, finally allowed them to cross under the yellow tape and onto crime scene, along with crews from "america's most wanted." After neighbors complained of flooding at the platted site (due to the burial of the natural arroyo), the developer built a retaining wall to channel storm water to a retention pond built in the approximate area of the burial site, inadvertently exposing bones to the surface. >> police have set up a tip line. 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. >> you're finding this, and you're just going, i wonder if it's going to be the rest of the girls. Another expresses hope that authorities will find the killer. do not use if you are allergic to dupixent. but that's not the -- that's not what he saw in his eyes, or his heart. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. "You can't have a colder cold case," Gibson said. >> reporter: two women on ida lopez's list had already been identified among the 11 sets of remains. The police are reportedly willing to reward $100,000 to anybody who provides information on the West Mesa murders. or whatever, see somebody that may appear to be the size of michelle, a small person, and go around the block two or three times and me wondering who they were as well as them wondering who i was. The West Mesa Murders And The Bone Collector Behind Them - All That's >> reporter: that he once had a daughter named michelle who was the light of his life. Janepsy Carballo, Woman Serving Life Sentence in Revenge Killing 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. Going to listen. Daniel Wozniak's Fiance Lied to Police About Double-Murder - Peoplemag He said. i sat in many waiting rooms, and i said, i don't want to know what their sessions were about. 'd as one of the west mesa women victims -- one of the west mesa women." Crime. what had i been doing? was it all hot air, or did someone with knowledge of the murders mix a kernel of truth into those rumors? until late in the afternoon on february 2nd, 2009. if you find one, you're going to find them all. Where to Watch Episode 2 >> there's nothing to connect lorenzo montoya to those 11 bodies? 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. [20], Lorenzo Montoya lived less than three miles from the burial site. http://www.rrobserver.com/news/article_2d7213ea-a0dc-11e3-aa48-001a4bcf887a.html. 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. >> she came over to the house one day, and i'd given her a few dollars, and she stood up. some passed on grisly rumors to ida, that the missing women were dead and had been dumped in the desert west of town. The West Mesa killings occurred from 2001 - 2005, and the serial killer responsible has never been caught. there's a better choice. Summary: Josh Mankiewicz puts the focus on the mysteries surrounding the West Mesa Murders, an unsolved case of 11 female bodies discovered in a desert graveyard near Albuquerque in 2009. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time.