>> reporter: they strolled out of her new subdivision, one of many that had recently sprouted up in the desert west of albuquerque, and then over to an abandon construction site, where christine let ruca off the leash to run. [7], Soon after, Wozniak was apprehended by US Marshals while at his bachelor party two days before his wedding. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision. Paige Birgfeld, 34, was a well-liked . advantage ii, fight the misery of biting fleas. Police have offered a $100,000 reward for anyone offering evidence leading to the discovery of the person the media came to call the West Mesa Bone Collector. New Mexico State University", "Fair prostitutes help West Mesa murders", "The Untold Truth Of The West Mesa Murders", "APD Talks 10-Year Investigation Into West Mesa Murders", "The West Mesa Murders And The Bone Collector Behind Them", "Updated: Seven years later, one detective remains on West Mesa killings", "AMW Fugitives West Mesa Bone Collector Case", "Women's photos may link to mesa murders", "West Mesa Serial Killer--$100,000 Reward", "Lawton girl was only teen in mass grave", "Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation (warning: content may be disturbing for some people)", "Police identify 2 women from photos, both alive", "Dateline To Air Story on West Mesa Deaths", "West Mesa Bone Collector Albuquerque NM", "Police Pursue Possible Leads In West Mesa Cases", "Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation", "Joplin man says he has been cleared of suspicion in serial murders", "Colorado killer quizzed in mesa murders", "Does APD have a suspect in the West Mesa Murders? What appeared to be a human bone was just the beginning. NEW MEXICO: It took police a year to identify the remains of 11 women killed in the West Mesa Murders, but they still haven't identified the killer. Who are the dominate males, and lesbians in their Tribe? he opened up the door for all the wrong things. >> reporter: the families of the 18 women now on ida's list prayed for happy endings like that one. >> it's a lot of people. >> i would tell them every single day we're one day closer to finding your daughter. do not use in breeding, pregnant or lactating dogs. [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. >> reporter: detective todd babcock and sergeant lou heckroft drew the job of trying to track downtown killer. >> i don't believe so. but that's not the -- that's not what he saw in his eyes, or his heart. 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. >> several of these victims were missing for months before anyone reported them missing. easy. She took a picture and messaged her sister, a registered nurse who confirmed that it was. They also found electrical tape and rope in his car when he was arrested in 2003 for exposing himself to a woman. >> the reality is it was kind of like this is not happening. dupixent is not a steroid, each x marking another day without word from his oldest daughter, michelle. for ida walking through this bone yard felt as if she were watching a horror movie unfold in real time. [17] In June 2018, more bones were found near the site of the burials, but these were later determined to be ancient and not related to the West Mesa murders. i'll take aleve. In this case, there was almost nothing but bones.. she confirmed that that looked like a femur bone and i should call the authorities. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz,. >> that's a possibility. As a result of the subsequent police investigation, authorities discovered the remains of 11 women and girls[8] and a fetus buried in the area. Daniel Patrick Wozniak (born March 23, 1984) is a former American community theatre actor who was convicted of two counts of murder in September 2016. It took nearly a year for medical examiners to identify the decomposing victims, most of whom were Hispanic and all of whom were female. >> even though you knew -- >> even though i knew that it could be going for drugs. oh, i've had 17. i've been choked. >> reporter: many who lost friends and relatives to the west mesa grave digger are convinced there could still be someone somewhere who knows something. they pick up a lot of girls. [4] At the time of the murders, Wozniak was deeply in debt and unemployed but planning a lavish wedding and honeymoon. though she's not on the street as much these days, she is still busy working missing persons cases. any signs that the women knew each other. >> i think we will. It is unknown, however, if she traveled on her own or was trafficked there. I think there's a Disappeared episode relating to it as well. Lopezs investigation found that close to two dozen women with similar profiles were missing. 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. possibly two prior times. not at all. >> reporter: cops call this section of central avenue the war zone. Joseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). Photos, information and videos from Dateline here. -you're not even enrolled in this class. i'm just a normal person. dupixent is not a steroid, and it continuously treats your eczema even when you can't see it. >> when was the last time you saw her? memorial service organized by Street Safe New Mexico. but police think it wasn't just the balloons he was, photographing. Several suspects have been named, but none were arrested or charged. Edwards was from Oklahoma, but was known to have been in Texas and Colorado before ending up in Albuquerque. it was not the way that her mother and i raised her. Police say a woman walking her dog reported finding what appeared to be a femur on the mesa. [11], On September 12, 2018, Buffett was convicted on two of those counts with a maximum possible sentence of 44 months and, on November 8, 2018, was sentenced to 32 months minus time served and good behavior. can you make it look like i'm holding it? and sure enough, they too were names on ida lopez's list of missing women. >> all six sets of remains were found within 20 yards of each other. jane doe number 8 was michelle valdez. 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. this bone belonged to someone who had died in the not too distant past. all the bones. and for them. and then as the months go by, wi search more and find that there are, you know, maybe another one here, then another one there, and that sort of thing. >> 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. >> i got to know a lot of them. >> the hardest part of this whole thing is having to go to somebody's house and say we found her and she's not alive. turning up on the mesa. >> and if he is, it may only be a matter of time. davy. Wikimedia CommonsDowntown Albuquerque as seen from the West Mesa. After neighbors complained of flooding at the platted site (due to the burial of the natural arroyo), the developer built a retaining wall to channel storm water to a retention pond built in the approximate area of the burial site, inadvertently exposing bones to the surface. -not this. i'm supposed to be in ceramics. by 2Paragraphs in Culture, True Crime Murder TV | July 27, 2019, The Dateline episode Somebodys Daughter shines the light on Albuquerque Detective Ida Lopez. Police budgets are stretched thin. >> how many other detectives ins missing persons? >> who was she? >> we would just love to have the opportunity to interview him and treat him just like any of the other individuals we're looking at in this case. [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. That threat and the circumstances of his death led police to suspect that Montoya had been the West Mesa Bone Collector. -[ scoffs ] if you say so. >> then in february 2009 came unsettling news. She was released from jail sometime in 2019.[12][13]. >> 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. proven better on pain. [15][16] On December 13, 2010, police reported that two of the women in the photos had been identified as alive, and could have valuable information if they can be located. Summary: Josh Mankiewicz puts the focus on the mysteries surrounding the West Mesa Murders, an unsolved case of 11 female bodies discovered in a desert graveyard near Albuquerque in 2009. >> reporter: dan may have had. >> a suspect caught in the act. Josh Mankiewicz reports from New Mexico. a meticulous man whose grim will had brought him back to the mesa again and again to bury his victims. He had actually had over 100 encounters with police in the two decades preceding the discovery of the West Mesa murder victims. Sorry! so they'll move from albuquerque to phoenix to las vegas to los angeles and maybe not return on that circuit for several years. bring in your own phone, switch to xfinity mobile and save hundreds of dollars a year. Since 2009, families of some victims have stressed publicly that the women and girls were loved. >> if these women had been blond, white, and from the right part of town would you guys have sounded the alarm sooner? Casefile True Crime. michelle's -- michelle and cinnamon were stabbed and buried on the west mesa. >> reporter: jane doe's number 7 nose had been broken sometime before she died. i enjoyed it. A chilling lead came from satellite photos of the West Mesa Murders burial site. site flooded the new neighborhoods that surrounded it. but can't get your hands on anything else. I have a friend who was in a relationship with one Adrian P. Trujillo. who was responsible for turning the west mesa into an unmarked cemetery? The case remains unsolved till date, with eight girls still missing. out in the war zone there's a new crop of ragged women on the streets, willing to sell themselves in return for a puff of smoke from a glass pipe. podcast: Casefile True Crime. i had to take that avenue. it's been nine years since that summer night when ida lopez first took to the streets of albuquerque's war zone alone, searching for a couple of missing women. We'll do better next time, I promise! Within a year, they had identified all of the 11 victims, which ranged in age from 15 to 32. Call the 118th Street Task Force at 1-877-765-8273 or (505) 768-2450. On february 2, 2009, a woman walking a dog found a human bone on the west mesa of albuquerque, new mexico. >> reporter: it was that kind of gut reaction that led detectives to joplin, missouri in august of 2010. Albuquerque Police DepartmentJoseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). who got an awful skin condition. Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeneys White Hot Bikini Is Out of Control, Sydney Sweeney, Algee Smith, Euphoria, image: courtesy of HBO, 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. One of the victims, 22-year-old Michelle Valdez, had been pregnant when she was killed, and the bones of her unborn child were also found among the victims. [3] He was incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison until July 2021, when he was moved to Salinas Valley State Prison as part of the Condemned Inmate Transfer Pilot Program. Her husband, Orlando Mesa, and 18-month-old son were shot just moments after the pair were captured on haunting surveillance camera enjoying the spring evening. but occasionally she was able to do some pruning. Edwards was classified as an endangered runaway from Lawton, Oklahoma in 2003 and was last seen with three sex workers in Aurora, Colorado in May 2004. Sadly, the rumor was true. Where to Watch Dateline Mystery Dateline Mystery is available for streaming on the NBC News website, both individual episodes and full seasons. long. The 11th, meanwhile, was 15-year-old Jamie Barela. Please enter valid email address to continue. >> i came out here looking for my cousin, and i bumped into cinnamon, and she had told me that -- that the girls were getting their heads cut off and tooken to the mesa. >> i did. and it was here while posing as a decoy during prostitution sting operations that she learned the raw power of their addictions. let's get to be each other's support system. who got an awful skin condition. whatever else draws that connection to him. >> reporter: the total body count stayed at 11 sets of adult remains and one fetus. >> do you think we're dealing with one guy here? and you never know how your skin will look. 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. >> he's got me by the throat and he's shaking me and yelling at me telling me not to say a word. definitely. >> and the man in the car was? to start their search for a killer. and it's safe for puppies. but is it true? >> and sometimes they make the i wrong turn or a mistake.ke >> reporter: shortly after her . but we don't know if it's him or not. 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. >> correct. >> yeah. >> my personal opinion, i believe that that person is still out there. >> i just always felt that if you find one you're going to find them all. all the remains. >> he may be waiting to start doing the same thing again. 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. >> yeah. -i'm sorry? Article continues below advertisement after three years angelica was sent to live with dan's mother, who lived nearby, and michelle took to living with a series of people she called friends. activia. that was not the track michelle valdez was on.ra though dan continued to tape all the usual family functions. The Untold Truth Of The West Mesa Murders. The police are asking for the public's help to identify the women. at 16 weeks, nearly four times more patients taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin compared to those not taking it, and patients saw a significant reduction in itch. you don't have a school schedule or work schedule, that sort of thing. >> reporter: no. It would appear the killings stopped after his death. ask your veterinarian about apoquel today. All of the women were Latina and all were from New Mexico, except Syllannia Edwards, who was African American and from Oklahoma. doesn't just deal with missing. >> i just always felt that they were going to be together. 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. Between 2001 and 2005, 11 women were buried by an unknown assailant in an arroyo bank on Albuquerque's West Mesa, in an undeveloped area within city limits. whenever a lost soul was found. >> 35 to 50? it's a lot of sifting and actually in the dirt. 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. love for your gut. t and so that gave me an empathy for them on that part, and i thought, wow, this has got to be powerful. anybody that was arrested for prostitution, criminal solicitation, anything like. i said, "detective lopez just told us that your mother has been positively i.d. it recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain. what one little chew can do. to her ending up out here. that christmas angelica opened her presents alone, with no sign of her mother michelle. i'm sorry, i think you mean roses. we don't know. >> reporter: lorenzo montoya, a short, powerfully built man in his 30s who was known to have an, equally short temper and a taste for prostitutes. According to the Albuquerque Journal, it all began when a woman out for a walk with her dog in a part of the city known as the West Mesa made a grisly discovery in February 2009. at 13 michelle became pregnant. it was my gateway to making contact with her and seeing her in person. By 2006, development had encroached on the area, and soon after, the site was disturbed, buried, and platted for residential development. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. -yeah. >> reporter: the fact is dan valdez had been recording his. >> do you think we're dealing with one guy here? >> reporter: and for albuquerque's homicide detectives there was the most pressing question of all. it was a time when a sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of new mexico's largest city. 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. Joseph Blea was imprisoned when the bodies were found, but he became a suspect when his ex-wife contacted police. 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. >> since her skull was pretty much intact, one of our senior investigators who is able to do forensic sketching started doing a profile for her. [8][9], After repeatedly lying to police, Wozniak finally confessed. Plot Twist: With Lester Holt, Josh Mankiewicz, Julie Kibuishi, Sam Herr. it recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain. In addition to Barela, Edwards, Salazar, and Valdez, they are: Monica Candelaria, 22; Victoria Chaves, 26; Virginia Cloven, 24; Cinnamon Elks, 32; Doreen Marquez, 24; Julie Nieto, 24; Veronica Romero, 28. >> a third one. There is a reward of up. except for one tantalizing tidbit. they came up with their profile of who they thought we were looking for, including that profile was a white male. >> daddy, can i have something to eat now? 11. it turned out all were women. West Mesa murder case reaches ten year anniversary. >> reporter: an impromptu. detectives thought they knew about that killer. our daughters. 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. 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. 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. >> 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. 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. apoquel goes right to the source of itch to provide relief in as little as four hours! it was so much going through my. the gruesome cult sacrifice of Mark Kilroy. Syllania Edwards, a 15-year-old runaway from Lawton, Oklahoma, was the only African American, and the only victim from out of state. >> reporter: this michelle according to her sister camille was an all-american girl with a future as bright as the new mexico sun. With Safe Streets New Mexico, Jaramillo and Barber aim to give women from this vulnerable sector the protection society fails to provide them. lending tree made lenders compete for my business and i ended up with a loan that saved me over $9000 and no more credit card debt. >> reporter: ida didn't completely disbelieve what her girls were telling her. >> reporter: the detectives needed a solid tip. southwestern summer heat begins to ease hot air balloons rise like spring flowers over albuquerque and the surrounding desert. and i said, you know, what are you talking about? The case has been covered by numerous crime and news programs in the United States, including: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. a growing list of suspects. >> don't know. >> reporter: at 14 most kids rightfully think their best years are ahead of them. >> there used to be a motel here. she said, "no, don't tell me that. 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Or, died from other indirect causes, including assault, abuse, or homicide, prior to being funeralized; preped for burial? squeeze me tight. so you get a lot of that. i don't remember the last words we spoke. sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. >> because this guy had complete, freedom or he thought nobody's going to come out here? i never wanna hear you say no, kevin no, kevin! Show Transcript. sunrise would bring news of his daughter michelle. it was a fetus. 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. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. that the chin was specific for me. >> reporter: those were long nights, filled with bittersweet memories of michelle the way she used to be, before the drugs took over.