>> reporter: as you will soon see, timing, both perfect and not so perfect, will play a critical part in the story we're about to show you. >> she was last seen in denver. 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. >> i'm freeding. Photos, information and videos from Dateline here. i'm just a normal person. >> when you ask them how many bad dates have you had? >> reporter: now investigators feared the serial killer they were hunting may have buried other bodies elsewhere in the vast desert west of town. West Mesa murders - Wikipedia (danny) every day you're nearly fried to a crisp, professionally! and it was i thought perfect timing. he opened up the door for all the wrong things. American convicted of murder on death row, Dr. Phil: Was She an Accomplice to Murder? Dateline - NBC.com at first some of them were hesitant. then five. All Rights Reserved. serial killer to catch but also because one set of remains was about to upset everything. on July 20, 2019. thank you for being here with us. Police also saw him stalking sex workers after the West Mesa murders. [9][22] They confiscated "tens of thousands" of photos from the man, who reportedly used to visit the state fair in Albuquerque. but he saw his daughter. long. and do you use that profile and rule somebody out just because they're not on that profile? Confirmed to be the work of a serial killer that was active between 2001-2005. short lady. the bone could easily have belonged to one of them. "Dateline NBC" is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history and is in its 31st season. >> reporter: the target of the search warrant was a local joplin, missouri photographer who had allegedly been in albuquerque to take pictures during the city's 2004 balloon fiesta. Detectives were left with the fact that serial killers move with ease, often vanishing long before their victims are ever found. Someone called Father Reynaldo at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe to provide the last rites to a dying grandfather. and looked bad. and you never know how your skin will look. The Bone Collector- 11 bodies were found in the dessert of New - reddit who got an awful skin condition. did you know her? Four crime scenes, thirty-two gunshot wounds, eight members of the Rhoden family left dead in their homes. California, 2010: Two actors, Rachel Buffett and Daniel Wozniak, are at the center of the investigation of two murders. and we got a list of names. when they looked at old pictures of the mesa. -i know. >> we had gotten a call from a family friend of ours that i grew up with, and you know, i pick up the phone and she's like, oh, my gosh, i'm sorry about your sister. >> i just always felt that they were going to be together. and that was the last time i seen cinnamon. 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. 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? when he was active here and, most importantly, when he quit. All but one had fallen into prostitution and struggled with drug abuse, according to police. there were still seven missing women who fit the profile on ida lopez's list. [19][21], In August 2010, police searched several properties in Joplin, Missouri associated with local photographer and businessman Ron Erwin in connection with the West Mesa cases. 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. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. There has been very little publicity. The El Paso Crime Stoppers office received an anonymous tip in 2010 that a suspect whose last name was Cota had killed a girl nicknamed "Mimi" and "Chocolate," both of which were names Edwards was known to go by. i was so tired of it. there were whole bunches of them. The acting lieutenant of the Albuquerque Police Department's Violent Crime Division, Holly Anderson, told KOAT Action News in February 2021 that police are still working the case, despite not having any new evidence to go on in recent years. I think there's a Disappeared episode relating to it as well. it was so much going through my. 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. Not the clients. and i said, you know, what are you talking about? The victims included two teenagers and a pregnant woman. everyone. dateline west mesa murders - wolfematt.com Casefile True Crime. sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. here, hello! >> reporter: a time frame, 2003 to early 2005, and 11 sets of bones. Dateline NBC to air special on 2014 Fayetteville murder case it turns out that even though that evidence was long gone by the time those bones were discovered in 2009 a bird's eye view was precisely the perspective investigators needed. and ida lopez couldn't help but wonder if these dry bones were the women she'd been looking for. >> a third one. all they knew was that he'd killed at least 11 women and that the 2005 housing boom that brought suburban sprawl to the west mesa probably forced him to abandon this burial ground and find another one where there would be no neighbors around to watch him work. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. maybe he knew where the money was going to go. see a vehicle pick this girl up. dateline west mesa murders. >> i saw it on tv on february 2nd, when christina ross and her dog ruca was reported on the. and all had worked as prostitutes on the mean streets of the city's war zone. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. 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. >> yeah. >> maybe there are women out there who aren't on any list. lengthy delays in reporting missing people as missing. 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. >> reporter: sticking up for victims comes naturally to ida lopez. Getty Stock Images . But most of the other victims vanished with even fewer details. bones started to get names. West Mesa Bone Collector - ArcGIS StoryMaps Her skeletal remains were found at a construction site in the West Mesa area of Albuquerque in February, along with the bodies of many other victims. Article continues below advertisement >> no. It took nearly a year for medical examiners to identify the decomposing victims, most of whom were Hispanic and all of whom were female. >> we're not the only family that got a call saying that their, you know, sister, daughter was murdered and buried out there. that was easy! >> i'm still right down the middle of the fairway on this, right? t and so that gave me an empathy for them on that part, and i thought, wow, this has got to be powerful. right. [ soft piano music playing ] mm, uh, what do you do for fun? >> it's more than just a few. i have no idea how she got here. She was found buried next to her 27-year-old cousin, Evelyn Salazar. believe it! >> i told michelle she couldn't come over. >> homicidal violence. >> who was she? -oh. Murder. The process repeated itself in more or less the same way about five years later. What appeared to be a human bone was just the beginning. most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. advantage ii, fight the misery of biting fleas. She said that people should not lose hope, that there is no statute of limitations on crimes like these, and that the police will work the West Mesa Murders until the case is solved. by the fall of 2004 dan valdez's calendar was beginning to fill with xs. >> there's probably people that, were in albuquerque during the time frame we're looking at and now through investigative leads or other sources we find something that tells us a little bit more about their lifestyle as well, which would give us again that kind of immediate gut reaction, it's got to be. too many people in pain settle for. and there's a foot chase. Valdez was pregnant at the time of her death and her . apoquel. >> could never trace it back. Fortunately, the detective came back on a contractual basis to investigate the West Mesa murders. >> it was a problem. >> did you see her then? you know, maybe we ought to run that list. KTVB's Morgan Romero is joined by Keith Morrison on Channel 7 ahead of Friday's two-hour Dateline special on the Idaho student murders at 8 p.m. MT. -keith used to be great to road-trip with. >> no. >> you look at how many things had to have happened for these victims to be located. and by the summer of 2009 the fbi and the city of albuquerque were offering $100,000 to anyone who could help them catch and convict the man responsible for killing the west mesa women. Authorities believe that the women may have been involved in a large interstate sex trafficking operation. there's a better choice. >> you think she came here on her own? >> when they told us that they had a young black girl, i thought, i didn't have a black girl on my list. and you never know how your skin will look. Another expresses hope that authorities will find the killer. After authorities unearthed the remains of 11 women and one unborn child, they feared the worst: They were dealing with the city's first serial killer. The Untold Truth Of The West Mesa Murders. and i carried this little flyer in my pocket and in my car, you know, for the last, you know, four years. Investigating a 10-year-old crime where the police think that the victim had it coming theres just no incentive for that.. Thirteen years ago, the discovery of a femur bone on Albuquerque's west side would lead investigators to a mass grave site where 11 women were buried. but the detectives knew simply finding the bones in the first place had been an incredibly lucky break. >> so you told michelle she couldn't come over? >> 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. Sadly, the rumor was true. all you can do is bring them up, nurture them, show them love, attention, appreciation. what one little chew can do. >> was it possible ida lopez's list was just the tip of the iceberg? >> reporter: most of the new girls either never knew or barely remember the women whose places they've taken. >> reporter: six weeks after the digging began out on the west mesa, even more sets of remains were identified. [5], In an effort to misdirect police and cast blame upon Herr, Wozniak then used Herr's cell phone to text Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, a 23-year-old college student who had been tutoring Herr at Orange Coast College. and then three. soon could be years. searching for clues in a crime scene big enough to be seen from space. to discuss leads on missing persons, on cold cases, on sexual predators, and on unidentified remains. but she was unable to find the aunt or to pin down the source of the rumor. licking, scratching, scooting, and rubbing may be signs of allergic itch, a medical condition that may require fast-acting, prescription apoquel. the first thing is they were human beings to begin with. for the moments that mattered most to her daughter, angelica. Skip to main content Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. born to move. [7], On February 2, 2009, a woman walking a dog found a human bone on the West Mesa, and reported it to police. >> 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. >> no, you can't. some of them chummed around with one another. to states as far away as pennsylvania and florida, where the backgrounds and travel patterns of certain types of men seem to warrant close attention. the boyfriend shot and killed lorenzo montoya on the spot. To this day, the case remains unsolved. >> somebody that lives here? and one of the locations that was searched was right next door to a newspaper. memories fade, and witnesses disappear, and some just don't, want to be part of it anymore. flo has it, i want it, it's a whole thing, and she's right there. backing you. Furthermore, Police encountered Blea nearly 140 times between 1990 and 2009, often in drug-heavy areas that the victims were known to frequent. so you get a lot of that. every life is a mystery. Dateline is the long-running, award-winning news magazine bringing viewers stories ranging from compelling mysteries to powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. >> yeah. 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The case reportedly began in 2005 when Lopez was handed files of a few missing women, one of whom was a 25-year-old prostitute named Michelle Valdez from New Mexico's largest city, Alberquerque. i know and i'm comfortable with the fact that they identified her as my daughter. the fall of 2005 was one of those times. Case 27: The West Mesa Bone Collector. >> even though you knew -- >> even though i knew that it could be going for drugs. >> if those houses had been built, they would have been built right on top of that graveyard. >> yes, he was. >> the tv show "america's most wanted" was also at the crime scene today filming for next weekend's episode on the west mesa mystery. doesn't just deal with missing. a thigh bone had been found out on albuquerque's west mesa. if you are taking asthma medicines, do not change or stop your asthma medicine without talking to your doctor. Ross would soon discover that 11 dead bodies, now known as the West Mesa Murders, lay beneath. Dateline NBC - Police on Long Island, New York, have | Facebook >> i looked up to her for many things. that. ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. but the mesa, a vast expanse of desert west of town where people frequently dump things they no longer have any use for, was simply too big an area to launch, a search based on just a rumor. except their families. each x marking another day without word from his oldest daughter, michelle. >> a third one. Ominously, Montoya was holding a flashlight when he died while his victim was wrapped in a blanket near his SUV. The West Mesa Serial Killer Satellite Photos - Transborder Media do you need anything? >> so this guy takes photographs of the part of town that you're sort of looking at. [1] Police have also suspected the involvement of a sex trafficking ring operating through neighboring Texas that targets sex workers during events throughout the Southwest, Southern, and Western United States, especially regularly scheduled events, such as the New Mexico state fair in this case, to take advantage of reliably heavier traffic. They also found electrical tape and rope in his car when he was arrested in 2003 for exposing himself to a woman. >> thin, wired out, strung out maybe. Lopezs alma mater) who has written several books on serial killings, said: You cant have a colder cold case, Gibson said. but by 2004 camille, the tag-along little sister, had had enough.on when michelle asked dan if she could move back home for a while, camille put her foot down. Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). 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. According to the El Paso Times, the presence of Syllannia Edwards among the victims has led authorities to believe that sex trafficking gangs could have been involved. and sure enough, they too were names on ida lopez's list of missing women. (danny) after a long day of hard work you have to do more work? >> and whatever you tell us, it's no judgment at all. the crime lab had determined that one of the unidentified, sets of remains, jane doe number 7, was a young black female. - Investigation Discovery", "Sam Herr, Juri 'Julie' Kibuishi: 'The Perfect Murder' On Investigation Discovery Afghanistan War Vet, California Tutor Killed By Actor In Plot To Have Lavish Wedding", "48 Hours-Killer Performance - Video Dailymotion", "Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent | Watch Full Episodes & More! In 2006 there were reportedly dirt trails leading from his trailer park to the site. She took a picture and messaged her sister, a registered nurse who confirmed that it was. >> there used to be a motel here. but what can you do?te you can't be with them 24/7. In addition, a tree tag from a nursery was found in the area where the West Mesa victims' bodies were buried; it was tracked to a nursery Blea once frequented. >> where was i the night before? Barela is the only victim who police say wasn't known to have been subjected to sex trafficking. In May 2008, 13 yo Aarushi Talwar was found murdered in her own bedroom in Noida, India. >> a lot of people said they were drug addicts and prostitutes. He has interviewed 200 hundred local women with similar backgrounds and created timelines for every suspect. 11. it turned out all were women. >> several of these victims were missing for months before anyone reported them missing. >> mommy's not a grownup anymore -- i mean, a teenager anymore. and there were certain processes that it did pose a concern. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. A sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. bark i wanted to consolidate my credit cards in to a personal loan to pay them off faster. i mean, you'll see some out here that they need that fix. do you think you'll ever find them? >> at one point syllania had been arrested up in the denver area for prostitution, going by a different name at the time. >> reporter: that was true then, and it's true today. shocking talk on the streets. and i said, look, i'm not running you. she hunted the guilty. >> 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." but in 2004 while pregnant with her second child doctors discovered a mass in ida's right kidney. >> that really sends a chill up and down your spine. Tonight's Dateline episode entitled Miami Heat will focus on the tragic events that led up to the fatal shooting of Orlando Mesa and 18-month old Noah 'Noa' Mesa, who survived the brutal attack. apoquel has helped over 6 million itchy dogs get the relief they deserve. >> reporter: such was the mystery of the women on stal detective ida lopez's growing list of the lost. All rights reserved, Privacy Policy|Online Content Agreement, Seven years later, one detective remains on West Mesa killings, Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation. and the women who work its. Police on Long Island, New York, have released the name of a previously unidentified victim linked to the notorious Gilgo Beach murders. i couldn't handle it. and she wanted to be able to provide them with some answers. 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. Dateline - NBC.com Compelling mysteries, powerful documentaries, in-depth investigations. >> so many young women missing. >> yes. Several arrests and convictions in El Paso, Texas, indicated that Albuquerque is part of a broader sex trafficking route that includes the states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as the Mexican city of Juarez. Dateline Full Episodes. Neither woman was. this date's lame. >> she's like a lot of other cases that we had skeletal remains that come in. but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. The investigation led the detective to discover at least 17 more similar cases of missing women, whom she referred to as "her girls.". The victims' names will be read Saturday at a brief memorial service organized by Street Safe New Mexico next to a place where city officials in June broke ground on a memorial park. >> that's correct. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. Dateline: Unforgettable airs every Tuesday on Oxygen at 8:00 PM ET. she said, well, dad, i'm going to run. 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. 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. In 2005, she was handed two missing persons files including missing 25-year-old Michelle Valdez,. >> reporter: of course all that changed once bones started. >> and that's still a lot of people. >> definitely. never heard of her before. and ida says, "dan." Dateline : MSNBCW : July 20, 2019 12:00am-2:00am PDT - Internet Archive >> yes. Sorry! stop dancing around the pain your home and auto that keeps you up again, and again. bill's back needed a afvacation from his vacation. woof because nothing should come between you and your furry friend especially not allergic itch! She released her statement through Young Women United, a nonprofit where she helps with programs geared toward assisting women in need. that way, again, so if i were doing a different process or if i was looking at something specific, i needed to know that i didn't have the eyes of america in that hole with me. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid and the 12-hour pain-relieving strength of aleve. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz,. 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." Daniel Wozniak's Fiance Lied to Police About Double-Murder - Peoplemag then six. and the editor didn't say a whole lot. i used to live actually behind there when i was in college. All of the women were Latina and all were from New Mexico, except Syllannia Edwards, who was African American and from Oklahoma. 'Dateline' To Air Story on West Mesa Deaths - Albuquerque Journal By 2006, development had encroached on the area, and soon after, the site was disturbed, buried, and platted for residential development. missing persons, you know, was busy. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. . web pages >> reporter: the resulting column, which for the first time publicly connected the missing women on ida's list with the west mesa bone field, hit the front page one month after the first bone was found. 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. Her daughter had found womens clothing and jewelry in their home, with some families later revealing that the victims jewelry was missing. The serial murders of 11 women in the West Mesa area of Albuquerque will be featured in a two-hour edition of NBC's Dateline tonight. southwestern summer heat begins to ease hot air balloons rise like spring flowers over albuquerque and the surrounding desert. >> tonight they say the search is far from over. found her and she's not alive. "They all had families that care for them.". of a young girl's dreams. However, the Albuquerque Police Department refuses to lose all hope and continues working on it with whatever leads they have. we had to utilize the joplin police department. 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. there's a better choice. Paige Birgfeld: Missing Mom Living Double Life Was Murdered - Heavy.com >> reporter: an impromptu. ", "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! dateline west mesa murders; 3 Jun, 2022 dateline west mesa murders Julie Gonzales, the sister of Daniel Wozniak, the California theater actor accused of beheading his neighbor, Army vet Sam Herr, and his friend Juri "Julie" Kibuish, in Costa Mesa six years ago, is the focus of Dateline NBC tonight. >> it gathered a lot of attention because we had to utilize the fbi. and i remember telling him no. In one incident years before the West Mesa murders, police searched his car after a woman said he had exposed himself to her. The police are asking for the public's help to identify the women. >> reporter: dan continued to cruise the war zone, willing himself to believe that his daughter was still out there. The Bone Collector- 11 bodies were found in the dessert of New Mexico. Promising leads became dead ends with every cleared suspect. and where was he now? >> when they told us that they had a young black girl, i thought, i didn't have a young black girl on my list. She alerted the police, and Ray was arrested. They found rope and electrical tape during the search. ida knew the odds of finding any of the missing women alive were not good. >> it was real hard because you know, i'd be circling the block. nine. she said, michelle. The toddler peddled a small trike across the couple's driveway and out of view of the camera as Mesaa . Blea has been dubbed the "Mid-School Rapist" for his activities in the 1980s; police say he would often break into the homes of 13- to 15-year-old girls who lived near McKinley Middle School in Albuquerque and rape 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. -or maybe he didn't know. and most of these boxes were returned. >> reporter: over the years ida's career blossomed. By (61264) First Published: 1:46 PM PST, February 4, 2022 >> 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. geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. To this day only theories remained. >> reporter: for the detectives who were trying to catch a serial killer those remains represented a wild card with staggering implications. Her organization recently gathered the notes from the women it meets with weekly. Uploaded by love for your gut. >> right. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics (bubbles popping) and cleans them away as it dries. >> what'd the police tell you? The fact that all but one of the victims had links to sex work initially helped guide the police investigation for the serial killer they dubbed the West Mesa Bone Collector. But not even FBI profilers were able to find the killer. pe reporter: the michelle valdez that appears in these home videos with her little sisters is a far cry from the thin, drug-wasted young woman police would later come to know and fingerprint. well, if they were, so be it. he killed her, wrapped her body. they were there constantly. -ahhh. so why am i still thinking about this? In a major plot twist, as they were about to be married, one had something to confess and the other dealt with the fallout. sometimes because she avoided z the camera. A prostitute named Christine said the same year that other prostitutes in that area had become more conscious about watching out . >> reporter: based on photographs of the skull and a partial hair weave that was recovered from her grave, the sketch artist imagined that jane doe number 7 must have looked something like this.