NM - West Mesa Murders (2003-05)

Sorry if I was supposed to include a link of some kind to back up my claim. I'm not new here..just dont post often. I would rather read!! I live in Joplin Mo so that is how I know that as fact.

rachelle said:

Sorry if I was supposed to include a link of some kind to back up my claim. I'm not new here..just dont post often. I would rather read!! I live in Joplin Mo so that is how I know that as fact.

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No worries! I saw the story earlier today but didn't have time to post it. Very interesting turn. I hope it leads to something.

Glad to see they're still trying - the victims deserve justice!

Please be warned - the photos in the story may be disturbing to some. LE does not know under what circumstances they were taken:

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/PD-More-women-involved-in-Mesa-murders

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Albuquerque police released six photos on Thursday of unidentified women who may also be linked to the West Mesa murders.

The seven photos were given to police by "an unnamed source" according to the release. Once receiving them, detectives started investigating how the photos might be linked to the infamous 2009 discovery of 11 women's skeletal remains found buried in the desert in southwest Albuquerque.

“We need the public’s help,” Police Chief Ray Schultz said. “These women could be fine, they could need help or they could be victims. Right now we just don’t know.”

Dec. 10: 'Somebody's Daughter'

Josh Mankiewicz reports on the mystery behind the West Mesa Murders— a story that made national headlines after the remains of 11 female bodies were found in a desert graveyard outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2009. Airing Friday, December 10th at 9pm/ 8c, the story of this unsolved case has investigators racing against time to find the killer, leading them to search for clues in Albuquerque's "war zone," where drugs and prostitution create a breeding ground for danger and even death.
Told through the eyes of the city's missing persons detective Ida Lopez, viewers watch as the clues unfold in a story that has captured the attention of media across the country but has yet to lead to an arrest. With the killer still potentially at large, Lopez is intent to see that these women, most of whom were prostitutes and whose disappearance went largely unnoticed for years, get a fair shot at justice. "I have to keep believing that we'll find an answer soon. Soon could be months, could be years. But I have to keep believing that today could be the day. Today could be the day," she says.
Watch a special update from Josh Mankiewicz out in the deserts of New Mexico:

Previews

Meet Detective Ida Lopez
msnbc.com Video Player

Josh Mankiewicz in the "war zone"
msnbc.com Video Player

Where God and sinners reconcile
msnbc.com Video Player

<snip>



Police say in one case, they have confirmed the woman's identity.

APD Sgt. Trish Hoffman said Saturday, "Her brother called us yesterday several times as well as another friend called and said who she was."

Police say Christina Leyba, the woman in the picture, passed away a few years ago from medical problems.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s1878510.shtml

Two hour Dateline on the case: Video at the below link. If I directly link here, the video won't automatically loop to the next part.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/

Meet a victim's father Dan Valdez:
msnbc.com Video Player

The missing women of 'West Mesa'

Additional info about the young women involved in the ongoing 'West Mesa Murders' investigations in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Browse this interactive gallery of the young female victims, both found and still missing, involved in the 'West Mesa Murders' of 2009.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40611288/ns/dateline_nbc/

Submit your tips to help close the case:
http://www.cabq.gov/police/ccw/victims/118_street/index_118th.htm

I thought the Dateline story was excellent. I know there is another thread on this case in the "Identified" forum (I think!). But I would prefer to see it here until the killer is caught. These women did not bury themselves!

I read on another thread that a POI has been identified? Anyone else here this? I can't seem to find any info. except what was posted...It was on the NY UID (4 women) thread...TIA

PMLsmom said:

I read on another thread that a POI has been identified? Anyone else here this? I can't seem to find any info. except what was posted...It was on the NY UID (4 women) thread...TIA

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See post #280 up thread. I don't believe they've ever named this guy a POI. He's a photog out of MO.

I doubt very much the NM cases and the NY cases are connected. But you never know!

A serial killer probably was responsible for murdering nearly a dozen young women in New Mexico between 2004 and 2005, Albuquerque police said.

The victim's bodies were discovered last year in Albuquerque's West Mesa, before the area was developed into a residential neighborhood. Except for one, all the victims were from Albuquerque.

Albuquerque police Sgt. Trish Hoffman said in a telephone interview that the serial murders targeting young women apparently stopped in that city.

Although police have scrutinized several suspects, no one has been charged in connection with the slayings. Police said they believe the killer could be anywhere, including the El Paso area, which is about 250 miles south of Albuquerque.

much more here

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_16949278

Those of us in the Joplin MO area - who have had dealings with not-named-person-of-interest Ron Erwin, whose properties were searched in relation to this case - are following this one closely. It's one of those "It's all so unlikely - and yet, and yet" things; Erwin has run a string of Joplin businesses over the years, and most in the area remember his Book Barn, which was a great emporium featuring used paperbacks, CDs, records, comics, and trading cards. Tons of books I own still bear a Book Barn sticker. I've dealt with this fellow scores of times. Based on his shop offerings, we share common interests. Could it be? It's downright spooky to consider. It's widely hoped that it's all some sort of mix-up.

And yet.

Police probe possible Kimball tie to NM murders
DENVER -- He's Colorado&#8217;s most prolific serial killer. Now, FOX 31 News has learned law enforcement may be talking to Scott Lee Kimball about the murders of eleven women in New Mexico.

The case has been dubbed the "West Mesa Bone Collector."

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-police-probe-possible-kimball-123110,0,6563015.story

Hello everyone! I'm new here and wanted to say hi since I have spent the greater part of the last 5 days reading this forum.

Does anyone remember the name of the guy who was the first suspect in the West Mesa murders? I don't know how accurate the story was, but it was (I believe) a Hispanic man who lived near the edge of the desert where the bodies were buried. He had murdered a woman in his home and while he was in the process of carrying her out to his car to take her away, her boyfriend came up and saw this and killed the man. I know I'm not imagining this story!

norest4thewicked said:

Hello everyone! I'm new here and wanted to say hi since I have spent the greater part of the last 5 days reading this forum.

Does anyone remember the name of the guy who was the first suspect in the West Mesa murders? I don't know how accurate the story was, but it was (I believe) a Hispanic man who lived near the edge of the desert where the bodies were buried. He had murdered a woman in his home and while he was in the process of carrying her out to his car to take her away, her boyfriend came up and saw this and killed the man. I know I'm not imagining this story!

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via Wikipedia:

Two men who initially attracted police attention in connection with the murders were Fred Reynolds and Lorenzo Montoya. Reynolds was a pimp who knew one of the missing women and reportedly had photos of missing prostitutes; he died a natural death in January 2009. Lorenzo Montoya lived less than two miles from the burial site; in 2006 there were reportedly tire tracks leading from his trailer to the site. In December 2006, Montoya strangled a teenage prostitute at his trailer; he was shot to death by the prostitute's boyfriend.

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There are a couple of threads in the Unidentified Forum for those who want to help find the identities of victims. This thread is for sleuthing the killer.

Lorenzo Montoya was most likely the West Mesa Killer but, since he is dead, the issue will probably never be settled. In January 2006, he was killed by the "boyfriend" of a young prostitute he had just murdered in his mobile home on a remote piece of land not that far from the West Mesa site where the bodies were found. Apparently there was some sort of a dirt track that one could use to get from his mobile home to the West Mesa site.

This happened in 2006. The West Mesa site had not been discovered and no one in Albuquerque Law Enforcement had really picked up on the fact that prostitutes were missing and a Serial killer might be operating until 2009 when the West Mesa site was discovered. All of the girls went missing in 2005 or earlier.

New angle takes on mesa mass murderer

Investigators who have hit the streets for years are now hitting the evidence lab looking at old evidence from cold cases, rapes and even murders.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, and that's what we are willing to do," Detective Ida Lopez said.

Aisles of cardboard boxes, plastic bins and evidence tags are where detectives may find the answer that's eluded them for more than three years now: who killed and buried 11 women?

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/new-angle-takes-on-mesa-mass-murderer

Very interesting Joplin Globe article/interview from last August with one-time person of interest Ron Erwin, who has been cleared in the case (in spite of being in possession of some genuinely creepy-looking pictures he'd taken in Albuquerque):

Joplin man says he has been cleared of suspicion in serial murders

---
Police asked for the public&#8217;s help in identifying eight women pictured in seven photographs, without saying where they obtained the photos.

None of the women were among the 11 known victims in the West Mesa murders. But some of the photos were disturbing in that the women appeared to be unconscious or sleeping at the time their pictures were taken.

Erwin acknowledged that most of the photos are his. Police seized tens of thousands of photo prints, negatives and digital files when they searched his downtown studio and houses. He said there were a couple of photos released by police that he does not recall taking, although it is possible that they are his as well.

&#8220;All I know is I didn&#8217;t have anything to do with them being asleep or unconscious,&#8221; he said.
---

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much more at link above

kemo said:

Lorenzo Montoya was most likely the West Mesa Killer but, since he is dead, the issue will probably never be settled. In January 2006, he was killed by the "boyfriend" of a young prostitute he had just murdered in his mobile home on a remote piece of land not that far from the West Mesa site where the bodies were found. Apparently there was some sort of a dirt track that one could use to get from his mobile home to the West Mesa site.

This happened in 2006. The West Mesa site had not been discovered and no one in Albuquerque Law Enforcement had really picked up on the fact that prostitutes were missing and a Serial killer might be operating until 2009 when the West Mesa site was discovered. All of the girls went missing in 2005 or earlier.

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I think most of us in the Albuquerque area think this too. He was caught in the act murdering a prostitute, even his co-workers thought he was the one. His mobile home was very near the area where the bodies were found with dirt tracks going to the burial scene. And no more murders after he himself was murdered. It all makes sense. I guess they can't officially tie him for some reason. Here is an interesting link:

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/new-lead-in-west-mesa-murders

I seem to recall in the early weeks of the West Mesa grave dig that some were suggesting that a gang who initiated members by killing women were involved. That wouldn't be a far-fetched possibility; one of the credible theories in the murders of women in Juarez, Mexico was that two violent gangs killed women to initiate members. Interestingly, Albuquerque and Juarez, Mexico are pretty close and the Juarez Drug Cartel controlled the drug trade in New Mexico for many years (according to drug war blogs).

I understand it's easy to pin this on Lorenzo Montoya, and that would make sense considering his violent history toward prostitutes. I should mention that three women did disappear in Albuquerque between 1998 and 2001 (before the West Mesa victims disappeared) and people connected to narcotics were believed to have been involved in their disappearances.

Teresa Reyes (17) (July 1, 1998): Mentally challenged girl who disappeared after presumably going to a party hosted by five young men.
A detective visited a business in 1999 where a caller claimed that a woman resembling Teresa had been seen near a motel with a Cuban drug dealer known as "Oscar". Authorities located a woman named Monica who was with Teresa and "Oscar" at the time of the sighting. Monica believed that Teresa was a prostitute who was working for "Oscar".
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/reyes_teresa.html


Betty Vigil Garcia (34) (December 25, 1998): Last seen at the Drift-In Lounge. Believed to have been in the company of two men that were involved in narcotics at the time of her disappearance.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/garcia_betty.html


Darlene Marie Trujillo (20) (July 4, 2001): Last seen dropping off her son at his grandmother's residence. Darlene was accompined by a heroin dealer named "Jorge" at the time of her disappearance. "Jorge" returned to Albuquerque without Darlene a few weeks later. He told Darlene's aunt that he and Darlene did not go to Arizona like planned but to Tucumcari, New Mexico. Jorge claimed that Darlene left in the car they had driven. Jorge is wanted for questioning by police but authorities haven't been able to locate him.

Family members are convinced that she was abducted by Jorge and taken to Mexico. A family friend said a man who claimed to have information regarding Darlene was murdered.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/trujillo_darlene.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/us/24prostitute.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


It is not hard to suspect that gangs and even drug traffickers were involved in killing women in Albuquerque. It is also possible that the Albuquerque Police Department knows this but would rather blame the murders on a serial killer then to tangle with organized crime members that could have murdered at least 11 women.