dateline west mesa murders

>> it's kind of eerie looking at those satellite photos. While the killings were initially believed to be the work of a serial killer, the involvement of a sex trafficking ring has been suspected. >> that's a possibility. >> reporter: at 14 most kids rightfully think their best years are ahead of them. maybe he knew where the money was going to go. >> i'm still right down the middle of the fairway on this, right? and i'm happy and satisfied with that. In a 2013 interview, Ray Schultz said there was a "conscious shift" in the Albuquerque Police Department to take prostitutes more seriously. then august 2008 we have -- we had a really bad rainstorm. i know and i'm comfortable with the fact that they identified her as my daughter. but since he bought his house are you going 45? Lopez spent years investigating the case and soon became a significant figure in the West Mesa murders. i mean he's a wreck without me. any trucker initiatives or murderers that the fbi sent us we posted on the wall. Genre (s): Talk & Interview, Business, News, Documentary, Events & Specials Season 19 Episodes tbd S19:E72. >> at one point syllania had been arrested up in the denver area for prostitution, going by a different name at the time. 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. >> was the man whose house you served a search warrant on, is he a suspect? >> it was breaking angelica's. >> and we will see justice. when had i last seen her? >> did you notice when the girls were going missing? >> if those houses had been built, they would have been built right on top of that graveyard. but within a few months of receiving those remains the lab-coated sleuths at the office of the medical investigator began unraveling the riddle of jane doe number 7. The police launched a manhunt for the prime accused, 45 yo Hemraj , a live-in domestic help employed by her family. Updated: Jan 13, 2023 / 01:45 PM EST. the killer, whoever he was, and police naturally assumed the killer was male, had a five-year head start. He choked her to death, and when the woman's boyfriend/pimp came looking for her, he shot and killed Montoya. Who do they party with? and i said, look, i'm not running you. [7], On February 2, 2009, a woman walking a dog found a human bone on the West Mesa, and reported it to police. >> and i can understand it. After Herr told him that he had savings of about $62,000 from combat pay, Wozniak decided to kill him in order to acquire >> fbi's behavioral sciences agents came in, took a look at our crime scene, took a look at what evidence we had. and we got a list of names. high school, college. | Dr. Phil", "Dr. Phil | Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder? >> reporter: then came the teen years.me when life started coming at michelle valdez fast and furious. she said, michelle. but two years later, in 2004, when most of the women on detective ida lopez's list were disappearing, the images show tire tracks leading from this road to a few bare spots in the vegetation. Where to Watch Episode 2 However, two names have been widely. [9][22] They confiscated "tens of thousands" of photos from the man, who reportedly used to visit the state fair in Albuquerque. [citation needed], In November 2012, Wozniak's then-fiance, Rachel Mae Buffett, was arrested[10] and charged with three felony counts of accessory-after-the-fact based on allegations that she had lied multiple times to police investigators. >> she was on your list. Dirk Gibson, a communications and journalism professor at the University of New Mexico (Det. [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. Case 27: The West Mesa Bone Collector. 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. a data plan for everyone. >> reporter: no witnesses. -they're very tasteful. actually, it was my grandfather raised me.ctdehiizedis s co enowas ait wde.lo he was about in his 80s. every time he saw her he marked the date down. advil pm silences pain, and you sleep the whole night. [23], In December 2010, convicted Colorado serial killer Scott Lee Kimball stated that he was being investigated for the West Mesa murders, but he denied killing the women.[24]. -he did show us how to bundle home and auto at progressive.com and save a bunch of money. Albuquerque detective Ida Lopez took it upon herself to uncover the story behind the remains of 11 women and an unborn fetus, which were discovered over 13 years ago, buried in shallow graves in a West Mesa desert. i didn't choose their lifestyle. The last segment of last night's two-hour exploration of the West Mesa serial murders on NBC's Dateline reviewed the search warrants executed by the Albuquerque and Joplin police departments and the FBI of properties owned by Joplin businessman Ron Erwin. and that's when angelica looked at me and started crying. -good luck, everybody. long. >> and under a desert sky the lost waited to be found. We'll do better next time, I promise! [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. and it's almost frustrating because you look at this picture, and you see the disturbed earth which later we learned are grave sites, and you see the tire tracks. that day it fell to 15-year-old camille to fill in for michelle and act as mom. >> reporter: six weeks after the digging began out on the west mesa, even more sets of remains were identified. >> reporter: the detectives needed a solid tip. [ camera clicking ] wifi up there? >> reporter: two women on ida lopez's list had already been identified among the 11 sets of remains. and for them. >> it's a lot of people. Victims' families weren't involved in planning the event, but relatives who attend will be asked to speak if they wish, said Barber. >> she was a college student found on a lonely road in texas. For current Fan Club membership options and policies, please . >> and this is "dateline." Paige Birgfeld: Missing Mother Living a Double Life Was Kidnapped & Murdered. >> -- your daughter's a prostitute. >> reporter: mostly she just watched it grow. >> how'd she look? Uploaded by A sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. n.d then there was the service part, the helping people part of police work. 14th birthday michelle valdez gave birth to a baby girl she named angelica. Dirk Gibson has no faith that will change, because police lack the necessary incentive. >> the majority of our girls were street-level prostitutes. the fall of 2005 was one of those times. davy. Albuquerque police released photos of unidentified women who may also be linked to the West Mesa murders. >> another one here, then another one there. and there's so much work that's always done behind the scenes to get them identified. >> and whatever you tell us, it's no judgment at all. Police did promise the families of the victims that justice would be done. Julie Gonzales, the sister of murder victim Doreen Marquez, told KRQE the . Daniel Wozniak (murderer) 1 language Talk Read Edit View history 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. >> 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. >> i really thought he could be her killer. A chilling lead came from satellite photos of the West Mesa Murders burial site. >> it's like being in a race and somebody has a year ahead start. Police on Long Island, New York, have released the name of a previously unidentified victim linked to the notorious Gilgo Beach murders. That discovery of a single bone led to a months-long dig, as police used DNA and dental records to identify the women and girls. site flooded the new neighborhoods that surrounded it. >> 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. This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). and the newly organized families, which included everyone with a daughter on ida's list, began holding monthly vigils to keep public attention focused on finding all of the missing women. Josh Mankiewicz reports from New Mexico. apoquel is for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs. >> reporter: sticking up for victims comes naturally to ida lopez. i think he's been preying on his victims, has a particular victim in mind. definitely. This blog features observations from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. >> reporter: -- no one who seemed to know something about the five-year missing persons cases was dialing the phone. Trish Hoffman, spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department. jane doe number 8 was michelle valdez. jane doe. Several suspects have been named, but none were arrested or charged. Her family maintains a Facebook group to solicit tips from the public, and the cold case was featured on Dateline NBC. detective ida lopez, who would later make it her mission to find michelle and the other missing women, was on medical leave at the time. >> reporter: though police say they have a half dozen suspects on their radar at any given time, so far they haven't been able to eliminate or arrest any of them. >> then about a month and a half after i was diagnosed, then i had my kidney removed. Dateline Mystery is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (7 episodes). Fortunately, the detective came back on a contractual basis to investigate the West Mesa murders. According to police reports, she might have gone by Mimi or Chocolate while staying at the Ranger Motel. >> no. >> reporter: over the years ida's career blossomed. you know, it's stuff you read about. >> mommy's not a grownup anymore -- i mean, a teenager anymore. >> it was a problem. 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.