For more New Mexico mysteries, check out Part 2 and Part 3. Additionally, some of the many unsolved central New Mexico murders include the 2004 double murder of Eddie Verdugo and Joyleen Chavez, the 1989 murder of Janis Pulliam, the 1990 murder of Jean Sturges, the 1999 murder of Michelle Nina Sanchez, and the 1995 murder of Reyes Valenzuela, along with the 2006 disappearance of Shawntell Monique Waites. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. By Elva K. sterreich. The total sum of money stolen from the alley during the shooting by the bandits was a measly $5,000. In January 1991, the bowling alley was sold at auction by the bank. At the auction for the bowling alley, she held up a sign which read. February 13, 2018 @ The police needed a clearer picture of who they were looking for, so Steve sat down with a sketch artist and gave his descriptions of the two men. Can Do That! In November of 1984, the bodies of Thomas Cotton and Judy McKnight were found in the kitchen of their Lincoln County ranch house. Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre | American Crime Journal | img5off.src="../images/btn5.jpg"; Several local and state law enforcement and investigation agencies provide information on their websites regarding the number of murders in New Mexico by year. New Mexico is one of those states that just kind of seems steeped in mystery. Your email address will not be published. Two hunters found the bodies of the girls in the Rocky Arroyo area , Sitting Bill Falls. Also the disappearance of young Robbie Romero from Santa Fe, circa 2000. what about the disappearance of Jimmy Mathews in February 2000. However, they learned from her account that the older man had a Spanish accent, but the younger had an American enunciation. (I lived in El Paso at the time and remember hearing about it and reading about it. Lyle Moody. img6off.src="../images/btn6.jpg"; Ive always wondered if they ever found out who killed Cricket Koogler ( I think thats the way her name was spelled) in the late 1950s. The day manager, Stephanie, was in the office adding up the previous nights receipts. Being only 45 minutes from the Mexican border, police decided put roadblocks in place, in case the killers tried to flee the country. But her murder in the Sandia mountains near the parking lot for the man cave was never solved and over the years is getting buried to the point of being totally forgotten. Several famous New Mexico serial killers may easily be found on any type of serial killer list, including list of serial killers in New Mexico or New Mexico serial killer list. As a lawyer and politician, Fountain was not without enemies. Barbara Lemmons and Dorothy Gibsons bodies were Found on the old buckeye turn off (Hwy 238) @ approx 9:30am on July 23, 1957 where they had been murdered. (browserName=="Microsoft Internet Explorer" && browserVer >= 4)) ver = "yes"; Many viewed the land speculator as a crook - he had few friends. Joseph Henry Loveless (45) was an American bootlegger and accused murderer who was killed by unknown means, dismembered and hidden in a pair of burlap sacks in Buffalo Cave near Dubois, Idaho. Lori Smith. Your email address will not be published. Trends Analytics. Steve and his children were ordered into the office, where his colleagues and friends were now being held, cowering on the floor. [2][6] The U.S. Customs Service, Army and Border Patrol searched the area with planes and helicopters, but no arrests were made. Seconds later, employee Steven Teran arrived at the bowling alley with his two young children. Submit a Crime Tip Square with arrow pointing upper right. 34-year-old Stephanie Senac was at the bowling alley, getting ready for the busy day ahead, and her daughter Melissa Repass tagged along with her. They had been at the beach area and never made it back home. Las Cruces Bowl via New Mexico Police Department. img3off.src="../images/btn3.jpg"; I thought I had said something about this story awhile back and its not here so I guess I will just repeat what I mentioned about this story awhile ago. It seems that the two suspects were familiar with the bowling alley and were prepared to execute all witnesses. 8. img10off=new Image(); 12-year-old Melissa and her friend Amy Houser, 13, were working at the daycare facility in the bowling alley that day and were preparing the space. Blood, skin cells, sperm,or other types ofDNA evidence, cell phone pings, weapons, andmost commonly, Santa Fe County murders crime scene photos, which are frequentlyused to highlight theatmosphere around the crime in addition to any other aspects of the crime sceneto the judge and jury. 1. img7on=new Image(); img10on.src="../images/btn10_on.jpg"; Unsolved Mysteries featured the massacre just over two months after the event (season 2, episode 6) and Americas Most Wanted included the story on the show in 2004 (season 18, episode 7) and 2010 (unknown). She was working the graveyard shift at the Circle K convenience store when a man came in with a knife. Its unclear what happened to Ida but she would now be in her sixties. Remarks: Speaks excellent English with no Spanish accent, Gender: Male Though the killers stole thousands from the bowling alley, Ida told investigators that they were rifling through a filing cabinet after theyd found the money in the safe. Steve was the alley mechanic and had problems finding childcare that morning, so instead of calling off work, he brought his daughter, Valerie and stepdaughter Paula to the bowling alley with him. img3on=new Image(); [3] Repass, despite being shot five times, called 9-1-1 on the office phone, allowing emergency services to respond immediately and saving her life along with her mother's and Ida Holguin's. On the morning of February 10th, 1990, a few staff members were preparing to open the Las Cruces Bowl for the dayamericancrimejournal.com These cases are unsolved or are in need document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + "on.src"); Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 08:39 PM MST. It sounds like they had an initial plan and then something went wrong and they felt the need to eliminate all the would-be eye witnesses. And tragically, the case still remains unsolved, with no promising developments or leads. M. Michael Henley. You are now leaving Unsolved.com and heading to our shop at. victims whose cases remain unsolved are suffering and if(ver == "yes") { img3on=new Image(); Linda Tellington-Jones. Last updated December 15, 2022 Janson Secody Missing Aztec, NM January 11, 2011 Thinking nothing more of it, Steve grabbed his bag from the alley and dropped into Stephanies office, to tell her to keep the front doors locked before 9 am. It was twelve year old Melissa, shot five times, who managed to save the lives of herself, her mother, and the cook by calling 911 after the shooters left. Officers responding to the call discovered that Amy Houser, Paula Holguin, and Steven Teran had died at the scene. The sellers of the items earn money that they can reinvest in other Shortly after 8 am, on the 10th of February 1990, police received a call from a distressed child, who claimed shed been shot in the head. Then, with nothing more than a police sketch created from interviews with the witnesses, Romero went to that bar and found out that his wifes intuition was spot on. Learn how your comment data is processed. browserName = navigator.appName; If x <> "" OR y <> "" Then In todays world of technology and forensic science, we dont expect murders or missing persons to remain mysteries for long. www.cnn.com Unsolved Las Cruces Bowling . The motive of the massacre was robbery;about $5,000 was stolen. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The killers seemed to know the layout of the place and were surprised so many people were inside apparently. He reportedly told Senac to lock the doors to the bowling alley after he left, but she didn't get a chance to do so. For example, the infamous Roswell crash occurred in, , 1988, when she went on a bike ride in her neighborhood. Based on this data, it seems as if the number of criminal homicides committed in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, has risen in the last 5 years but has remained steady overall. Our next unsolved mystery in New Mexico is even more baffling and will likely never be solved since it occurred nearly 88 years ago in 1929. No arrests have ever been made. Several local, state, and even federal law enforcement organizations have published public annual crime reports on their websites, which detail the types and frequency of crimes in that area, if youre interested in learning more about crimes in New Mexico. Meanwhile, there have been plenty of reports of paranormal activity in the restaurant next to Manbys old home. To this day their murders have not been solved. If you have any information on any unsolved violent crimes please contact your local authorities. This case is also unsolved. In 2009, a woman walking her dog found a human bone, and many more were found in the vicinity, which led to the discovery of a mass grave in which 11 women were unceremoniously discarded. When he arrived, he saw that the front doors were open and that two men were walking through the car park from the back of the building. window.onerror=null; With no new information, police began to look at tips from all over the United States, but again, no potential suspects were identified. As for those cases that remain unsolved,law enforcement will continue to use every resource in order to find the answers that families deserve. Her death is listed as undetermined by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. She left her home in Belen and was last sighted on Highway 47 in Valencia County. "A Nightmare in Las Cruces" a movie made by director Charlie Minn . We lived in Deming at the time she lived across the street from me on the corner of Santa Barbara street and ? 7 Jan 1991, 3 - The Deming Headlight at Newspapers.com [Feedback] [Contact] [2] Not seeing anyone in the alley, Teran entered Senac's office and stumbled onto the crime scene. else ver = "no"; additional information to make arrests. Despite the coincidence, police later confirmed that the murder in Rio Rancho was unrelated to the bowling alley killings in Las Cruces; But Amy Housens mother, Gloria wasnt so sure. Hair: Salt & pepper homicide. "Please help me." "Woah, slow down. The case is still open, and according to KVIA, the reward is now totalled at $25,000. The most recent of New Mexico's unsolved murder mysteries came to light in February of 2009. According to Ida: I just thought they were gonna get money and then take off, especially when they told us, All of you put your heads down.'. While there is currently no definite way to estimate how many murders in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2021 or how many murders in New Mexico 2021, looking into archived reports will show you that the homicide rates in both the city and state as a whole seem to be slowly rising as time passes. What do you think about these mysteries? In 2011, A Nightmare in Las Cruces was released, based on the actual events of that day, prompting fresh tips but no leads came from them. Senac worked at the bowling alley, while the girls worked in the daycare there. Lonnie Zamora UFO Sighting. However, the rate of robberies in the state consistently remains below the national average. Fountain was a Civil War veteran who fought for the Union Army and later became a lawyer. The business had been foreclosed and Ron was now bankrupt, with $2million in debt. Unsolved Las Cruces Bowling Alley Mass Shooting Case Marks 31 Years Some claimed to have seen him in Europe, indicating that he was still alive. I cannot remember their last names. In all, 11+ victims were found and identified over the following year. Someone called Father Reynaldo at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe to provide the last rites to a dying grandfather. That suggests that they knew their attacker. Helicopters, planes and multiple law enforcement departments quickly got involved, including the Army, U.S Customs and border patrol, all hunting for the shooters. img8on=new Image(); We couldnt include them all in this post, but if we didnt get to your comment, stay tuned for Part 3 in our series of unsolved mysteries in New Mexico. You can even provide tips anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, going online at NMCrimeStoppers.org , or through the Crime Stoppers app . now = new Date img3on.src="../images/btn3_on.jpg"; . if (ver == "yes") { End If