did you know her? jane doe. If you have information about the West Mesa murders, please contact APD at 1-877-765-8273 or (505) 768-2450. but can't get your hands on anything else. His cellmate said Blea admitted to knowing many of the murdered women and had even hit one of them for allegedly trying to steal his money. With a similar history as Blea, Lorenzo Montoya was known to pick up prostitutes and assault them. >> it was real hard because you know, i'd be circling the block. advantage ii, fight the misery of biting fleas. Only one signficant discovery was made along the way, which is that they were all murdered. "Dateline NBC" is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history and is in its 31st season. that christmas angelica opened her presents alone, with no sign of her mother michelle. Prosecutors said Carballo killed him out of revenge for the murder of her husband, Orlando Mesa. to this day faded photos of women on her list hang on her wall, alongside a line of scripture that reads, "nothing is hidden, except to be revealed." how did she get to albuquerque? help heal your skin from within. i used to live actually behind there when i was in college. >> 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. >> we were always bumping heads. how can i help? activia. Joplin man says he has been cleared of suspicion in serial murders [ chuckles ] i'm done with this class. there's no way. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. and i get to call the dad and say, we found her. protection. i said, "detective lopez just told us that your mother has been positively i.d. It took nearly a year for medical examiners to identify the decomposing victims, most of whom were Hispanic and all of whom were female. This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). and that was the last time i seen cinnamon. >> it gathered a lot of attention because we had to utilize the fbi. and do you use that profile and rule somebody out just because they're not on that profile? The West Mesa Murders And The Bone Collector Behind Them - All That's apoquel has helped over 6 million itchy dogs get the relief they deserve. let's get to be each other's support system. >> and she didn't mind? >> reporter: the detectives needed a solid tip. dr. scholl's. >> because this guy had complete, freedom or he thought nobody's going to come out here? -he did show us how to bundle home and auto at progressive.com and save a bunch of money. >> reporter: nine months after the discovery of the first bone on the west mesa the detectives were back to square one. that dares to last into the morning. >> this is michelle. The police are reportedly willing to reward $100,000 to anybody who provides information on the West Mesa murders. so i would tell her, you know, mean things. >> i thought this could be it, yeah. The guy is a total dirt bag and the subject of a criminal case for drugging and raping a teenage girl while still walking the streets. 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. but they hadn't made an i.d. >> reporter: of course all that changed once bones started. start with supporting your gut health. >> i find a girl with the same background. >> it was a problem. Murder. Wozniak came under suspicion after he instructed a sixteen-year-old, Wesley Freilich, to withdraw money from Herr's accounts. we weren't as close.enec because of the drugs. so, let's make this the summer of loving your gut. Dateline - NBC.com Compelling mysteries, powerful documentaries, in-depth investigations. ask your veterinarian about apoquel today. West Mesa Homicide Investigation City of Albuquerque i've been -- you know, i've been raped a number of times. 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. it's one of those timing issues we told you about earlier. flo has it, i want it, it's a whole thing, and she's right there. Crime Junkie. she said, michelle. However, the Albuquerque Police Department refuses to lose all hope and continues working on it with whatever leads they have. Furthermore, Police encountered Blea nearly 140 times between 1990 and 2009, often in drug-heavy areas that the victims were known to frequent. >> reporter: from a pool of hundreds wendy first narrowed the field to 30, then to 10, and then to 1. one girl whose face, age, and biography seemed to match what she saw in the sketch. i wasn't done. too many people in pain settle for. So she took a picture of it and texted her sister. it was when the company returned to the site to fix the runoff problem that they inadvertently brought some bones to the surface, where five months later those bones were discovered by christine ross and her dog ruca. in 2006, years after being caught in the act of choking one prostitute, lorenzo montoya was caught in the company of a dead one. searching for clues in a crime scene big enough to be seen from space. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz,. 14th birthday michelle valdez gave birth to a baby girl she named angelica. and for them. SERIAL KILLER: The West Mesa Serial Killer-Crime Junkie 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. you know, it seems like they knew or something. and there were certain processes that it did pose a concern. but her presence in the west mesa bone yard raised a troubling prospect. and so this case was going nowhere. >> university of north texas identified jamie barela through dna. This blog features observations from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. by the fall of 2004 dan valdez's calendar was beginning to fill with xs. 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. dr. scholl's. born to move. but because doctors caught the cancer early, ida required neither chemo nor radiation therapy. For current Fan Club membership options and policies, please . >> reporter: it had to be someone local, investigators assumed. >> reporter: oddly enough, the west mesa investigators' good fortune began thousands of miles to the east, in the fall of 2008. that's when crumbling financial markets on wall street caused home construction on the west mesa to grind to a halt. activia. 's criminal investigations unit, says the department chased leads all over the country, from texas, where a woman with profile similar to those of the west mesa women-v also gone missing. memories fade, and witnesses disappear, and some just don't, want to be part of it anymore. >> and sometimes they make a a mistake. >> no. The Piketon Massacre. [ camera clicking ] wifi up there? | Dr. Phil", "Dr. Phil | Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder? and she said -- she went up to put her arms around me, and i hugged her. I have a friend who was in a relationship with one Adrian P. Trujillo. except their families. [20], Lorenzo Montoya lived less than three miles from the burial site. that was easy! According to Tixier, the department made the decision to bring Lopez back due to her extensive involvement in the case as well as her connection with the families of the victims. >> lorenzo montoya. 'd as one of the west mesa women victims -- one of the west mesa women." Please logout and login again. [3][4][5][6] This small fragment of a human trafficking ring involves numerous population centers, including Las Vegas in Nevada, El Paso and Killeen in Texas, and Denver in Colorado.[2]. it's the city's annual balloon fiesta. Fortunately, the detective came back on a contractual basis to investigate the West Mesa murders. >> investigators are extremely tight-lipped at this point, but we do know that this is in connection to the west mesa murders in albuquerque, new mexico. >> how much of your time is this taking? [9] Police confirmed that they had cleared Erwin as a suspect. >> reporter: the fact is dan valdez had been recording his. Joseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). University of Idaho murders on 'Dateline' 2-hour special Bones found in New Mexico may be linked to unsolved killings, burials >> he was able to define out her ears. not a lot to go on. >> no. >> did you see her then? Looking back what has changed for women on the streets?". Barela is the only victim who police say wasn't known to have been subjected to sex trafficking. so you have to recreate and you have to kind of go back in the time machine, so to speak, to that era or that time in these people's lives. >> reporter: ida didn't completely disbelieve what her girls were telling her. >> 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. 55 is a suggestion. >> she says i have some bad news for you. >> there could be somebody up there right now. (danny) after a long day of hard work you have to do more work? you need to stop and smell the roses of savings. aleve pm. oh right. Ominously, Montoya was holding a flashlight when he died while his victim was wrapped in a blanket near his SUV. -what a sign, huh? "They did an excellent job with our West Mesa murders," said Sgt. and i thought, well, i need to make further plans. the money. aleve. Like Blea, police also knew Lorenzo Montoya to be violent and hire sex workers in Albuquerque's East Central corridor. Police did promise the families of the victims that justice would be done. Lopez was part of the investigation from the very beginning, when the homicides were a series of missing persons cases related to the disappearance of numerous women. They think theyre just a bunch of hookers and drug addicts, he said. now between the bulldozers and ida's prayers the department was moving heaven and earth to find out if there were more women from ida's list out there. Investigating a 10-year-old crime where the police think that the victim had it coming theres just no incentive for that.. Police haven't ruled out that there might be more victims, and detectives still have multiple suspects, Gallegos said. maybe it was camille saying no or whatever. >> a suspect caught in the act. Thoughts? >> reporter: and within weeks ida's early work of collecting dental records of the missing women and dna samples from their families began to pay off. What appeared to be a human bone was just the beginning. Daniel Wozniak's Fiance Lied to Police About Double-Murder - Peoplemag that the chin was specific for me. you know, maybe we ought to run that list. They also found electrical tape and rope in his car when he was arrested in 2003 for exposing himself to a woman. In one case, there was a DNA sample but the rape test kit was not re-tested until 2010, eventually linking Blea to the rape. served. soon could be months. Josh Mankiewicz reports from New Mexico. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics (bubbles popping) and cleans them away as it dries. -it's kind of like driving with his dad. her nose and her eyes were very important. >> reporter: it was in denver, another city on the circuit, that detective todd babcock hit paydirt. but at the time it was routine low priority policework. All but one of the victims of the West Mesa murders were born and raised in New Mexico and were Hispanic. let's send to everyone! Photo Source if you don't have faith in your law enforcement to treat everybody equal, then what do you have? That way if women started disappearing again, there might be more advocates who notice and help in raising concerns, Barber said. Police suspect that the bodies were all buried by the same person or persons, and may be the work of a serial killer, who has since come to be referred to as the West Mesa Bone Collector. 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. in late january 2010, nearly a year after the first bones were discovered on albuquerque's west mesa, the last set of remains was matched to another name on ida's list. "They didn't deserve what they got. all you can do is bring them up, nurture them, show them love, attention, appreciation. activia. [18][19], No official suspects have ever been named in connection with the murders. you know, it's stuff you read about. i'll take aleve. and i'm in the porch area. most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. >> reporter: desiree gonzalez says she used to hang out on these streets and says she knew several of the missing women and had also heard those same rumors. Ross wasn't sure the bone was human, but knew it could be. One of those suspects was Joseph Blea. for ida walking through this bone yard felt as if she were watching a horror movie unfold in real time. The Albuquerque officers did not say that Erwin was a suspect. a detective named ida lopez. After more than five years of court proceedings, Wozniak went to trial and was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder. The Bone Collector- 11 bodies were found in the dessert of New - reddit so, let's make this the summer of loving your gut. then august 2008 we have -- we had a really bad rainstorm. The authors, advocates say, are women who spend their days in the district with a history of drugs and sex trafficking that many of the victims were known to frequent. >> i thought ida being a police officer was awfully small. Another expresses hope that authorities will find the killer. at night dan drove through the war zone. michelle had already been busted for receiving and transported stolen property, drug possession and car theft. West Mesa murders subject of two-hour Dateline tonight - Blogger for all-day, all-night protection. apoquel. any signs that the women knew each other. Or, died from other indirect causes, including assault, abuse, or homicide, prior to being funeralized; preped for burial? there were whole bunches of them. as spring turned to summer that, year, dan, his ex-wife, and his daughters plastered flyers with michelle's picture all over central avenue asking anyone who'd seen her to call the albuquerque police department. Search the history of over 797 billion then five. >> i think we will. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid and the 12-hour pain-relieving strength of aleve. do you think you'll ever find them? and if they weren't on the mesa, where were they? but she kept coming up empty. i couldn't handle it. (vo) you earned it, we're here to make sure you get it. >> i would tell them every single day we're one day closer to finding your daughter. The toddler peddled a small trike across the couple's driveway and out of view of the camera as Mesaa . December 2006. The Dateline episode "Somebody's Daughter" shines the light on Albuquerque Detective Ida Lopez. [9][22] They confiscated "tens of thousands" of photos from the man, who reportedly used to visit the state fair in Albuquerque. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. any trucker initiatives or murderers that the fbi sent us we posted on the wall. An arrest was made in April 2020, but more people were likely involved. daughter's comings and goings for years. >> i just always felt that they were going to be together. all i want to know is a timeline. Her family maintains a Facebook group to solicit tips from the public, and the cold case was featured on Dateline NBC. Where to Watch Dateline Mystery Dateline Mystery is available for streaming on the NBC News website, both individual episodes and full seasons. >> reporter: dan immediately called detective ida lopez with the tip. her aunt ran the streets, knew michelle, knew certain people, and they had heard it from her aunt. bill's back needed a afvacation from his vacation. Does anyone have any theories or info on this one? for the moments that mattered most to her daughter, angelica. >> and whatever you tell us, it's no judgment at all. [4] In December 2006, Montoya strangled a teenage sex worker to death at his trailer and then was shot to death by the teen's boyfriend. don't lie to me." so you feel refreshed. Theres a sense of physical remoteness this place was very removed, said University of New Mexico professor Dirk Gibson, who has written two books on serial killers. Plot Twist: With Lester Holt, Josh Mankiewicz, Julie Kibuishi, Sam Herr. is that what we're looking at here, is you're interested in seeing what photos this man took and whether he found anything in them? 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. It was the most disturbing murder case Albuquerque police had ever seen and it remains unsolved to this day. that was not the track michelle valdez was on.ra though dan continued to tape all the usual family functions. >> 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. It is unknown, however, if she traveled on her own or was trafficked there. 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. sad but common, especially for these dark streets where drug addiction and prostitution literally go hand in hand. >> did you know michelle was pregnant when she disappeared? >> reporter: now investigators feared the serial killer they were hunting may have buried other bodies elsewhere in the vast desert west of town. The Untold Truth Of The West Mesa Murders. >> somebody was trying to send a message at some point. >> reporter: and as it turns out, jolene gutierrez krueger, a columnist for the "albuquerque journal," had gotten a copy of that list a few years earlier, when she worked the police beat. The West Mesa Murders are the killings of eleven women whose remains were found buried in 2009 in the desert on the West Mesa of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States.Several suspects have been named, but none were arrested or charged. albuquerque police were looking at the evolving work of a serial killer. 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. believe it! Photos, information and videos from Dateline here. and i'm happy and satisfied with that. i noticed when she started seeing one of her boyfriends, you know. >> when they found the second, third, and fourth sets i said to myself i have to realistically look at this, that michelle i'm sure probably is out there. but police think it wasn't just the balloons he was, photographing. that they're actually doing okay. >> reporter: for the detectives who were trying to catch a serial killer those remains represented a wild card with staggering implications. and you never know how your skin will look. -i know. on July 20, 2019. thank you for being here with us. short lady. michelle had just turned 20. a milestone that was not lost on mother or child. that's all we really wanted, just to flash her picture real quick. He has interviewed 200 hundred local women with similar backgrounds and created timelines for every suspect. Dateline: Secrets Uncovered Snapped Murdered by Morning An Unexpected Killer Snapped: Killer Couples Final Moments Living with a Serial Killer Buried in the Backyard Killer Relationship with. young hispanic women with arrest records for drugs or prostitution. The west mesa murders are the killings of eleven women whose remains were found buried in 2009 in the desert on the west mesa of albuquerque, new mexico, united states.several suspects have been named, but none were arrested or charged. Florida woman gets life after shooting dead husband's business partner MESA, Ariz. - Thirteen days after the shooting death of a 24-year-old Mesa woman, the man suspected of killing her was arrested in Texas, said the Mesa Police Department in a news release on. nine. now that's simple, easy, awesome. eight. when they looked at old pictures of the mesa. i mean, that's not exactly, you know, the premier detective job. and ida lopez couldn't help but wonder if these dry bones were the women she'd been looking for. i mean $9000! >> she was on my list. because deep within your skin an overly sensitive immune system could be the cause. One bears a stick-figure angel and a message from a woman who says the victims watch over her. >> so you were being a father all over again. >> reporter: the conclusion was inescapable. podcast: Casefile True Crime. Due to the 2008 housing bubble collapse, development on the West Side halted before housing could be built at the burial site. City of AlbuquerqueThe 11 victims whose remains were discovered at the West Mesa site in 2009. >> hi. >> reporter: mostly she just watched it grow. advil pm. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, a severe reaction. >> reporter: but that unfortunately will never happen. because, they suppose, all those earlier rumors about the women being abducted, killed, and dumped in the desert had to have started somewhere. 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. squeeze me tight. she made detective, married, another cop, and started a family. >> what about those last seven girls? For example, the case of serial killer Ted Bundy, who killed 36 women in Washington state in the 1970s, received loads of media attention, and Bundy's name is well-known. they can be. 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. "he later navigated northward, leaving progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. On . it's pretty much the easiest way to save since sliced bread. advil pm silences pain, and you sleep the whole night. this date's lame. not just because of what happens but because of what might have been prevented, missed, or altogether avoided. Watch Dateline Extra Online | Season 3 (2018) | TV Guide didn't look like the normal animal bone you find out here. yes, i pray that they're okay. While the FBI created suspect profiles, Albuquerque police knocked on doors. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. i love you, hon. and now on the cusp of young adulthood michelle looked gaunt. Dateline : MSNBCW : July 20, 2019 12:00am-2:00am PDT - Internet Archive Paige Birgfeld: Missing Mother Living a Double Life Was Kidnapped & Murdered. but is it true? They had picked him up in 1998 when he offered an undercover cop $40 for sex. Both had disappeared after walking to a local park in 2004. it's a mystery their families th still struggle to understand. 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. 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. what's going on out here? Police were at a loss. they came up with their profile of who they thought we were looking for, including that profile was a white male. >> you think she came here on her own? awesome. Article continues below advertisement According to satellite photos, the last victim was buried in 2005. but ever since her early days in uniformed patrol, ida lopez has called them her girls. >> yeah. According to the TV program, FBI profilers told Albuquerque police that the killer was a white or Hispanic male in his 30s. The 49 girls and women murdered by Gary Ridgway, the "Green River Killer," in Washington state in the 1980s and '90s didn't receive anywhere near the same level of public attention and sympathy as the college students Ted Bundy murdered in the same state in the 1970s. Lorenzo Montoya was killed in 2006 at his South Valley home less than two miles from the West Mesa burial site. >> he may be waiting in some other community to start doing the same thing again. but that's not what she told the families when they called in, looking to hear something encouraging. Dateline NBC - Season 19 Episode 12: Somebody's Daughter - Metacritic >> investigators are looking for connections. A prostitute named Christine said the same year that other prostitutes in that area had become more conscious about watching out . Genres >> reporter: and the rain runoff from the deserted construction. each x marking another day without word from his oldest daughter, michelle. Produced, reported and maintained by Journal staff member. Dateline Extra : MSNBCW - Internet Archive 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. sure, why not? >> i was the only detective in there at the time. >> right. The 58-year-old Joplin businessman and photographer informed the Globe last week that he has been cleared of. Eleanor Griego, one of the victims' mothers, had previously mentioned while commenting on the case: APD Detective Mark Manary, who continued working on the disappearances after Ida's retirement, also deserves a special mention. at first some of them were hesitant. City and law enforcement officials have solicited help from the community to solve the West Mesa murders. but on the periphery in offhand moments dan's camera also caught something else.me the look and the unspoken despair that signaled the death. >> she's like a lot of other cases that we had skeletal remains that come in. >> reporter: over the years ida's list of the lost had grown to include close to two dozen women who fit the same basic profile -- young drug-addicted hispanic women who were known to wander the gritty streets of albuquerque's war zone. >> not for you. >> it was growing, and i had kidney cancer. >> whatever the killer's permanent address, those satellite photos were a huge break because they told police. >> you're finding this, and you're just going, i wonder if it's going to be the rest of the girls. >> i did. -yeah. Paige Birgfeld, 34, was a well-liked . Show Transcript. Albuquerque police spokesperson Tanner Tixier stated that she returned in 2015 to continue working on the unsolved case. i think because for the first time we had started to put faces on these women and we had explained to the citizens of albuquerque that there weren't just two women that were missing. "It appears that some of the women may be unconscious, again we .