NM - West Mesa Murders (2003-05)

[Kat]

Some updates on the case, just points of interest:

http://www.koat.com/news/18838544/detail.html

From above link:

New Technology Used In West Mesa Investigation
"A company from Denver is using its latest product, Inspector 07, to help in the massive investigation.

The device is similar to ground-penetrating radar already being used, but it's smaller and some say it's more efficient.

As of Monday evening, Gene Mercer has found at least three targets on the West Mesa using Inspector 07."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jEQrHFS2Rc_0uKM8CVFtO8JNKRiQD96M4IKG0

From link above:

"Police believe one person or group of people is responsible for the slayings, but they have been reluctant to make comparisons to any existing serial murder cases.

"We don't want to limit our investigation," Police Chief Ray Schultz said, calling the scene "one of the largest and most complex" ever investigated by his department.

So far, only two sets of remains have been identified. But detectives are reviewing cases involving dozens of women who vanished from the city over the last two decades. All of them were suspected of being drug addicts and prostitutes. Of particular interest are 16 women reported missing between 2001 and 2006."

 

[Kat]

I thought this was interesting. It may or may not be connected with this case.

http://www.koat.com/news/18858904/detail.html

"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two bodies on the West Mesa near Belen were unearthed by Valencia County deputies, they said.

Sky 7 captured investigators searching through the area off Highway 548 Wednesday afternoon.

Crews said they first found a skull, then more bones and late Wednesday night they discovered a second partial skeleton.

Deputies said they don't know how long the remains may have been buried there or whether they could be related to any ongoing criminal cases.

They said they will continue digging for more bones Thursday."

 

[MeoW333]

I thought this was interesting. It may or may not be connected with this case.

http://www.koat.com/news/18858904/detail.html

"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two bodies on the West Mesa near Belen were unearthed by Valencia County deputies, they said.

Sky 7 captured investigators searching through the area off Highway 548 Wednesday afternoon.

Crews said they first found a skull, then more bones and late Wednesday night they discovered a second partial skeleton.

Deputies said they don't know how long the remains may have been buried there or whether they could be related to any ongoing criminal cases.

They said they will continue digging for more bones Thursday."

It wouldn't be uncommon for a serial killer to have several dumping grounds.

 

[hoppyfrog]

http://www.koat.com/news/18840006/detail.html

2 March 09

Doreen Marquez was 27 years old when her family and friends put up posters all over the area.


Those who knew Marquez the best said the mother of two got wrapped up in a dangerous life of drugs and prostitution when she disappeared.

more at link

 

[hoppyfrog]

http://www.koat.com/news/18849640/detail.html

4 March 09

In the meantime, so many families of missing women said they are in agony and wonder if their loved ones wound up among the buried bodies.

That was the case for Cinnamon Elk's family.


Elk's mother Diana, who didn't want to give her last name, said "This is a nightmare."


Diana said her daughter, Cinnamon, was a perfect child.


"That's how I remember her," Diana said. "That's what I want."


But in her teenage years, she took the wrong path.


"My daughter probably has a rap sheet as long as her arm," Diana said.

She fell into a life of drugs and crime and missed out on raising her own two children.


"This is not what I brought up my daughter to be," Diana said.

Then, the summer of 2004 came.


"She did not call me for my birthday. She always called," Diana said.

Weeks turned to months with no word. In December 2004, Elk's mother filed a police report.


One of the only significant developments she said she received several calls from people she did not know and they left her with a chilling message about her daughter.


"That it was for sure that she was dead," Diana said. "I don't want to go into the gruesome details."


Now Diana said she is focused on the crime scene where police have unearthed 13 bodies.

much more at link

 

[SuziQ]

I thought this was interesting. It may or may not be connected with this case.

http://www.koat.com/news/18858904/detail.html

"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two bodies on the West Mesa near Belen were unearthed by Valencia County deputies, they said.

Sky 7 captured investigators searching through the area off Highway 548 Wednesday afternoon.

Crews said they first found a skull, then more bones and late Wednesday night they discovered a second partial skeleton.

Deputies said they don't know how long the remains may have been buried there or whether they could be related to any ongoing criminal cases.

They said they will continue digging for more bones Thursday."

What kind of crew are they talking about? Garbage, construction, or Law enforcement? Was the skull stumbled upon then a search activated? Or was LE there because of some info then a skull was found?

 

[SuziQ]

It wouldn't be uncommon for a serial killer to have several dumping grounds.

I watched a video of a neighbor who said she wasn't buying LE's assertion that there wasn't a serial killer out there since the burials stopped years before. Her theory was that as houses were being built and encroached on his dump site that he changed locations and might still be killing. She made a good point.

 

[Kat]

What kind of crew are they talking about? Garbage, construction, or Law enforcement? Was the skull stumbled upon then a search activated? Or was LE there because of some info then a skull was found?

That's the only article I found SuziQ. I haven't looked tonight for updates. I looked on the google map for Belen and Albuquerque and they are only about 30 or so miles apart, connected by a road (Hwy?).

 

[Kat]

What kind of crew are they talking about? Garbage, construction, or Law enforcement? Was the skull stumbled upon then a search activated? Or was LE there because of some info then a skull was found?

Edit to add: I quoted the wrong post sorry. I meant to quote the clip of the neighbor that gave a very interesting theory. In my mind it was interesting. Makes me wonder when those houses were built?

 

[shadowraiths]

Rio Puerco bones a
historic mystery
Skeletons may be Native American
Updated: Thursday, 05 Mar 2009, 6:21 PM MST
Published : Thursday, 05 Mar 2009, 2:34 PM MST
* Reporter: Alex Tomlin
* Web Producer: Bill Diven

BELEN, N.M. (KRQE) - If two skeletons found in Valencia County Wednesday are the remains of crime victims, the killer escaped a century or two ago.

The state Office of the Medical Investigator determined the bones discovered by a man hunting arrowheads could be up to 300 years old.

Full article: click here

 

[Kat]

Rio Puerco bones a
historic mystery
Skeletons may be Native American
Updated: Thursday, 05 Mar 2009, 6:21 PM MST
Published : Thursday, 05 Mar 2009, 2:34 PM MST
* Reporter: Alex Tomlin
* Web Producer: Bill Diven


Full article: click here

Thank you SW. Very interesting. I'm glad they weren't connected.

 

[Kat]

Very little else at link below: With the exception of a video that I have not viewed.

http://www.koat.com/news/18867834/detail.html

Police Answer Questions About West Mesa Mystery

"Since the story of bones found on the West Mesa broke, the media has been the pipeline of communication between the Albuquerque Police Department and concerned residents living nearby.

In a public forum Thursday night, residents asked police their own questions for the first time. APD revealed the dig should continue for at least two more weeks. Many residents were concerned the digging would move into their backyards, but Westside police Cmd. Conrad Candelaria said that won't happen.

"I've been given the assurance from other commanders who are involved that the likelihood of that is zero to none," said Candelaria."

 

[Kat]

Just bumping this so it doesn't get to far back in the pages. I suppose we can't expect updates on the victims for quite a while because they are using DNA to ID.

Here are two women that have families anticipating the ID's:

http://www.inews880.com/Channels/Reg/LocalNews/story.aspx?ID=1069537

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/crime_krqe_albuquerque_canadian_mom_searching_for_daughter_in_west_mesa_200903082056

My heart and prayers go out to the missing women's families, so many with no answers as of yet.

 

[Ruflossn]

Below is a great link to a website that is devoted to the Mesa murders.

http://www.mesamystery.com/

Mesa Mystery

Albuquerque's Largest Crime Scene in History Involves 13 Bodies discovered on Amole Mesa. The digging and investigation continue. This site hopes to chronicle the stories that are developing out of this investigation

 

[Kat]

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Nation/2009/03/11/Police-ID-another-mass-grave/1236780360.html

Video and article at link above:

snipped from article:

" More than 10 days have passed since police unearthed any bones at a mass grave in West Mesa, New Mexico, where they pulled 13 bodies from the ground so far. But, we have now learned the identity of another victim -- a young woman who disappeared four years ago, who has a similar past to two others who were killed and dumped at Albuquerque's largest crime scene ever.

Diana Wilhelm received the news she's been dreading. Detectives told her that dental records confirm a set of remains found are those of Cinnamon Elks.

Elks was a mother of two and addicted to drugs.

Wilhelm says her daughter would go away for long lengths of time, but she'd always come back -- until the summer of 2004."


Cinnamon's flier (has not been updated yet)

http://www.nampn.org/cases/elks_cinnamon.html

 

[Kat]

Victims identified in Albuquerque NM
Identified Victim #1: Victoria Ann Chavez, 24, disappeared from Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 5, 2003. In February 2009, her skeletal remains were found at a construction site in the West Mesa area. (Info from Charleyproject.org)

Identified Victim #2: Michelle Gina Valdez, 22, disappeared from Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 22, 2004. In February 2009, her skeletal remains were found at a construction site in the West Mesa area. Valdez was pregnant at the time of her death and her fetus was found also. (Info from Charleyproject.org) Previously IDed by NM LE as Jane Doe #8

Identified Victim #3: Unborn fetus which belonged to Michelle Gina Valdez. Found with her body (some reports indicate the remains of the fetus were found within her remains).

Identified Victim #4: Cinnamon Elks disappeared on August 20, 2004.

 

[Kat]

Thanks for the heads up on the dozen women. I went through the profiles at The Charley Project and found 8 that specifically refer to the dozen missing. I double checked but still may have missed some that have that reference.

Cinnamon Elks

Virginia Ann Cloven

Felipa Gonzales

Anselma Guerra

Nina Brenda Herron

Julie Cyndie Nieto

Anna Vigil

Shawntell Waites

I wonder if any of the others are going to be found with Cinnamon? Good work Suzi!

 

[SuziQ]

I wonder if any of the others are going to be found with Cinnamon? Good work Suzi!

Thanks Kat. And thank you for all the info you have found. I bet LE knows who most of these women are. They just need to hunt down dental records.

 

[ella's mom]

If you look back at the Cinnamon Elks Missing Person flier, it states the following:

"Cinnamon was reported missing by her roommate. Her mother states she received three calls from unknown persons stating that Elks was killed in November 2004."

I think the three phone calls are key here. I wonder if her mother contacted the police each time she received the calls. Did she have caller ID, was it a man or woman?, what exactly was stated in the phone calls, etc.

I need to look at the posters for the others, but does anyone know if phone calls were received by any of the others missing person's families?

 

[ella's mom]

In the article below (thanks to HoppyFrog) it states that:

One of the only significant developments she (Cinnamon's Mom) said she received several calls from people she did not know and they left her with a chilling message about her daughter.


"That it was for sure that she was dead," Diana said. "I don't want to go into the gruesome details."

http://www.koat.com/news/18849640/detail.html

Unfortunately, I think the gruesome details are going to be significant here. Did the caller take responsibility for the crime, did they say why she was murdered, where or how, or did the caller see her get murdered? Like I said in my last post, I think the calls are going to be a key factor in solving this case.