Without her quick action, everyone would have died from the gunshot wounds or the fire that the murderers set before leaving the scene. Many believe that Tara was intentionally trying to leave a trail for the police to follow, as pieces of her Walkman were found near the abduction site. on any tips, or information to the proper authorities if you Less than one year later, on June 15, 1989, a woman found a photograph in a grocery store parking lot depicting a young woman and a young boy, both of whom were bound with duct tape and appeared to be Tara and another missing child. Despite the discovery of this photograph, it is not known what happened to Tara, or why. February 13, 2018 @ The business was a family affair, while Stephanie managed the day to day running of the business, her father Ron owned the bowling alley. Thank you dear readers for contributing to this conversation with the mysteries you recall that we had yet to discover. 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 . 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. Some of the unsolved mysteries in New Mexico are, unfortunately, all too earthly and human. img7on=new Image(); mail_str ="mailto:webmistress@nmsoh.org?subject=" + document.title; Or The gunmen then shot all seven victims multiple times at point-blank range. To say there are plenty of mysteries in New Mexico is an understatement! [1][2] They then set the office on fire by igniting some papers before leaving the alley. Again, any DNA around the safe or around anything the killers may have touched should be uploaded to GEDmatch.com and familial DNA could solve this quick. If x <> "" OR y <> "" Then The two victims disappeared in February of 1896, leaving behind little more thana bloody scene that suggested a murder had taken place. Amy Houser, 13, Paula Holguin, six, and Steve Teran, 26 all died from their injuries at the scene. 30 years later I would hope it would have solved. Santa Fe, New Mexico, homicides appear to be less prevalentthan homicides in other cities in New Mexico, most likely due to its relatively smallsize and population. One was much older than the other and Steve saw them pass a small case between them. Although you may not be able to think of any famous New Mexico murders off the top of your head, there are several names on the list of all New Mexico murders and even several notorious New Mexico criminals which have seemingly become more recognizable over time, whether or not you have ever lived in New Mexico. img3on=new Image(); AstroFriday at San Juan College Planetarium. Unfortunately, the news wasnt good for Lollies family. Both men were gunned down in Mexico in a botch robbery in Mexico right after the Bowling Alley Murders. Also among the lists are several unsolved murders Santa Fe, New Mexico, which include the 1998 murder of Mitchell Hanrahan, the 1988 murder of Annette Gonzales, the 1985 murder of Susan LaPorte, the 1986 murder of Roberta Michelle Montoya, and the 1981 murder of Beverly Ann Riccio, along with many others. Sloppy at best.tried and failed to eliminate the witnesses.tried and failed to burn the place down. 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. According to Ron Senac, hed spent a lot of time with the police, trying to help them. Lyle Moody. Shortly before the men arrived, Stephanie Senac's brother, Steve Senac, had stopped by to pick up his backpack from the night before. Nancy Bowns. img10off=new Image(); document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + "on.src"); August 12, 2017 @ As a lawyer and politician, Fountain was not without enemies. May 25, 2017 @ In this case, it was Romeros wife, Hazel, who suggested that the man may have been drinking at a nearby bar prior to committing the crime. if (ver == "yes") { [6], The case remains unsolved,[2][7] but is still under active investigation by the Las Cruces Police Department as of 2015[update]. The retired U.S. Navy veteran and father of three daughters was found shot to death at . This was not a professional job and it has been sheer luck that these two idiots havent been caught already. Robii McCann He was a controversial and wacky figure. 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. 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. Thank you! The Hobbs news sun has a full write up they did in July of 2017, 60 years later and still unsolved. browserName = navigator.appName; img3on.src="../images/btn3_on.jpg"; Ron claimed he was treated as a suspect in the massacre and that the news reporting was incorrect, but there would soon be another death nearby and the two crimes had a common denominator: Ron Senac. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 1940 to 1950 function imgOn(imgName) { This was when the two gunmen began shooting. Ray would find the name Raymond, but and entry of Raymond would Learn how your comment data is processed. There are many proverbs along the lines of you reap what you sow. As a society, we believe in the idea of seeking justice. Their first names were Dorothy and Barbara. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation publishes an annual Uniform Crime Report that shares the types of crimes committed and the crime rates in every state in the country, including a comprehensive report for crime in New Mexico. We canvassed the neighborhood, and thank god we were able to come up with a couple of witnesses that were able to give us some pretty decent composites., The gunmen shot the witnesses in cold blood. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. options from the drop down menu. Everything from mysterious disappearances in New Mexico to murders and ghosts - the Land of Enchantment has it all! It is, by far, New Mexicos most famous mystery. "[5], Authorities are now trying to build a DNA profile from evidence found at the scene. This is when a mass grave was discovered in West Mesa, near Albuquerque, at a construction site. myForm_OnSubmit = False Hello. Your email address will not be published. Can Do That! img8on=new Image(); Stephanies 12-year-old daughter, Melissa, and Melissas friend, Amy, were with her. She left her home in Belen and was last sighted on Highway 47 in Valencia County. Being only 45 minutes from the Mexican border, police decided put roadblocks in place, in case the killers tried to flee the country. Learn how your comment data is processed. function mailer() In addition, more examples of the seemingly endless number of unsolved murders New Mexico which are often included in the lists of cold cases are the many east New Mexico unsolved murders. img6off.src="../images/btn6.jpg"; could enter Ray and any cases where the first 3 letters of the The first entry on this list of New Mexicos unsolved mysteries is among the most disturbing. You may contact Crimestoppers inAlbuquerqueat img2off=new Image(); However, the police reported that this wasnt the case and they often had to track him down. any unsolved violent crimes please contact your local img5on=new Image(); 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. img4off=new Image(); Plenty of people had a motive to kill him, yet he also had a motive to kill. Melissa and Amy were already hungry and asked Stephanie for pocket change to buy snacks from the vending machines before customers started arriving. img6on.src="../images/btn6_on.jpg"; Do you recall any of these New Mexico mysteries or know of any others that are still unsolved? These murders were never solved. 12. If validation = True Then theYear=now.getYear() Many considered him to bedishonest and immoral. Others remained convinced that he was killed by one of his enemies in Taos, New Mexico. what about the toy box killer from elephant butte? The two gunmen demanded money, and Senac opened the safe for them. Two men - still unidentified - appeared to try and not leave any survivors. Somebody close to the bowling alley knows something. Las Cruces Bowl via New Mexico Police Department Shortly after 8 am, on the 10th of February 1990, police received a call from a distressed child, who claimed she'd been shot in the head. Who killed Rosemary Tellez at City of Rocks? The men reportedly drew guns and led the girls towards the back office, where Repass's mother, Stephanie Senac, was counting receipts from the previous evening. the biggest unsolved mysteries in New Mexico, Eagle Nest State Park Ice Fishing Tournament. Unsolved Homicides Name: Murder Date: Place of Murder: David Ray Aguilar: 1/7/1992 . The older gentleman squats down, and looks right at me as Im driving towards them. Who killed Carla? The village of Placitas has been covering it up for a few years now because the signs that used to be up made people uncomfortable. That Saturday had started like any other. No arrests have ever been made. [11] Filmmaker Charlie Minn hopes it will "move someone to come forward with fresh information and break the case. } On the morning of February 10, 1990, the bowling alley's manager, 34-year-old Stephanie C. Senac, was in her office preparing to open the business with her 12-year-old daughter Melissa Repass and Melissa's 13-year-old friend Amy Houser, who were planning to supervise the alley's day care. On Feb. 10, 1990, two men walked into a Las Cruces bowling alley and shot seven people execution-style including four children robbed the bowling alley's safe of an estimated $5,000 in cash. The killers seemed to know the layout of the place and were surprised so many people were inside apparently. location.href=mail_str That suggests that they knew their attacker. My mother told me about a murdered woman being dumped by her father in New Mexico. These offenders probably murdered before with how quickly they shot the hostages and left with the $. As of the latest count, there were more than 85,000 people living in Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, which is significantly fewer than the states largest city, Albuquerque. Mattie C. Restine, 13 yrs and Patty S. Pritz unsolved murder from Eddy County , Carslsbad , NM. A knife wielding criminalabducted Lollie from the Paralta, New Mexico, Circle K store in 1977. However, they never got to the machines as they were confronted by two men, standing in the open doorway of the bowling alley, holding guns. Cricket in the Web: The 1949 Unsolved Murder that Unraveled Politics in New Mexico Paperback - March 16, 2009 by Paula Moore (Author) 40 ratings Kindle $19.95 Read with Our Free App Hardcover $52.04 11 Used from $20.29 4 New from $45.00 Paperback $21.95 32 Used from $3.68 20 New from $16.02 Someone called Father Reynaldo at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe to provide the last rites to a dying grandfather. The girl was one of seven whod been attacked at Las Cruces Bowl that morning and the motive appeared to be money, but was that all? The men took between $4,000 and $5,000 from the safe and seemed ready to leave, but the robbery soon took an even darker turn. In addition, the homicide rate in New Mexico was around 8.6 per 100,000 residents, according to the same Uniform Crime Report from 2019. He then left the building and continued his morning. { x = Document.MyForm.sBegDate.Value Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.www.facebook.com img6on=new Image(); 31 years after the murders, the killers are still free. Finally, Nancy Bowns brought our attention to the case of Lollie Wood Tipton. Ron Senac at the reopening of the bowling alley via newspapers.com. 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. Weight: 170 lbs. Lorraine Ramirez went missing in April or May 2014. Tim Edwards was a retired Arizona educator and athlete and New Mexico rancher who was found brutally murdered on the road to his ranch on his way home from town with a load of hay and groceries for a New Years Eve get together. The Bowling Alley murders were one of those cases that as an Unsolved Mysteries watcher stays with you. img4on=new Image(); "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 ? DOB: Approx. Someone called Father Reynaldo at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe to provide the last rites to a dying grandfather. Less than one year later, on June 15, , 1989, a woman found a photograph in a grocery store parking lot depicting a young woman and a young boy, both of whom were bound with duct tape and appeared to be Tara and another missing child. A Nightmare In Las Cruces (Documentary) ABC-7 Xtra: Bowling Alley Massacre . A few of the most infamous New Mexico murders which currently remain unsolved include the 1990 Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre, in which 7 people were murdered by two unknown assailants, and the mass grave filled with the remains of 13 women and one unborn child in West Mesa, along with the 2006 disappearance of Shawntell Monique Waites and several others that you may recognize. He was traveling with his eight year old son, Henry Fountain, also missing from the scene of the apparent crime. All those young women, who were murdered and other than a Dateline TV, show about them nothing else has been said nor resolved. [13], This case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries two and a half months after the murders, and on America's Most Wanted twice, once in November 2004 and again in March 2010.[14]. Or, did he use the body of someone who had died in some other way? Its the single most famous UFO-related incident in United States history, and to this day, the town embraces its eerie claim to fame that an unidentified craft crashed just outside of town, and it was of extraterrestrial origins with open arms. "Please help me." "Woah, slow down. Juliet can be reached on Twitter @JulietWrites. He famously defended Billy the Kid against murder charges, and was elected to the New Mexico legislature in 1888. Submit a Crime Tip Square with arrow pointing upper right. The gunmen appeared to be looking for money, and when they found the safe, they took the cash that was inside. img1on.src="../images/btn1_on.jpg"; img6off.src="../images/btn6.jpg"; Her murder was brutal. According to Project: Cold Case, there wereapproximately 6,579 homicides in New Mexico between 1980and 2019. } Feb. 10, 2021, marks the 31-year anniversary of the heinous shooting of four children and three adults at a Las Cruceswww.krwg.org Thats reallyall that anyone knows since the case went cold without any evidence to point to motive or the identity of the murderer. Crime Stoppers offered a reward of $12,000 and locals raised another $8,000, hoping that someone would have information about the killings, but no new leads were made. He forced her towards the office where Stephanie and the girls were being held by a second gunman. The only missing items were a couple of blankets and Fountains rifle. In addition to local and state organizations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation releases an annual Uniform Crime Report to the public, which focuses on detailing the types of crimes and crime data statistics for most cities and counties in each state, along with other types of information per state. On the morning of February 10th, 1990, a few staff members were preparing to open the Las Cruces Bowl for the dayamericancrimejournal.com Las Cruces Danessa Howard: 8/10/1984 Albuquerque Matthew S. Hunt: 5/29/1999 . Various seasons available now on Hulu. // end hiding --> As the 31st year since two children, their father and others were murdered at the Las Cruces Bowling Alley slips by, Anthony Teran, brother of Steve Teran who died that Feb. 10 with his daughters, still lives with the knowledge and memory of that event. His case has been highlighted on Americas Most Wanted, and in newspapers in New Mexico and Arizona. The good news is that we can answerthis question for you, Nancy: a well respected sheriff solved this mystery. For example, document.write(theYear). window.onerror=null; below. (l-r) Paula Holguin and Valerie Teran via Sun-News. He returned with the frightened chef, holding a .22 calibre pistol to her head, and the group were told to get on the ground. We know what happened, but not who did it. Seeing no one in the building, Teran headed to the office where he came upon the hostage scene. What do you think about these mysteries? All three died, along with Melissas friend, Amy. img4on.src="../images/btn4_on.jpg"; (browserName=="Microsoft Internet Explorer" && browserVer >= 4)) ver = "yes"; Entertainment, NM History, People of New Mexico Despite being shot five times, 12-year-old Melissa was still alive and through the fire was beginning to fill the room with smoke, she managed to find the phone and call the police, something shed learned at school just a week earlier. The mystery surrounds the headless body that was found in Manbys Taos home in July of 1929. additional information to make arrests. Function myForm_OnSubmit After all, its a strange man who invents his own secret society then uses it as a weapon against anyone who opposes him. img9off.src="../images/btn9.jpg"; On February 2nd 2009, the bodies of 11 women and one unborn child were found in a mass grave on the edge of Albuquerque. if((browserName=="Netscape" && browserVer >= 3) || The McKnight murders in Picacho were never solved either. Karen Brown. In November of 1984, the bodies of Thomas Cotton and Judy McKnight were found in the kitchen of their Lincoln County ranch house. A beautiful place. [Site Map] [Memorials] No one has ever been charged in his death. Subscribe for new episodes announcements, latest news, featured cases, and more! Despite the many calls and renewed interest in the case, the leads lacked new information and the police were no closer to finding the killers. } Police began canvassing the neighbourhood, to try and find any witnesses to the shootings and get the killers in custody. It was when two men walked into a Las Cruces bowling alley and shot seven people execution style including four children. According to the same source, around 4,302 of those homicides have been solved as time passed, yet leaving roughly 2,277 homicides unsolved in New Mexico. 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. The good news is that overall murder rates in New Mexico have decreased in recent years, going down to 4.8 per 100,000 peoplethat's still a hair above the U.S. average of 4.5 murders per 100,000 people. First responders arrived in only a minute, but they discovered a grisly scene. 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Also missing from the Paralta, New Mexico to murders and ghosts the... Gunmen appeared to be looking for money, and when they found the safe for them Tip with! Of Thomas Cotton and Judy McKnight were found in the building, Teran headed to the case of Lollie Tipton! In custody years later I would hope it would have solved looking for money, and Steve them... Scene of the apparent Crime we can answerthis question for you, Nancy Bowns our! Elephant butte about a murdered woman being dumped by her father in New Mexico of New... Down in Mexico right after the Bowling alley and shot seven people execution style including four children photograph!