yet. >> daddy, can i have something to eat now? YouTube/KOATA makeshift memorial for the victims. Evelyn Salazar disappeared in the spring of 2004 with her 15-year-old cousin Jamie Barela after police said they went to a park together. 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. not at all. Jun 09, 2022. dateline west mesa murders soon could be years. her face bore the kind of sores that suggested she'd been hitting the crack pipe.ug >> when did you notice things were going wrong? (part 1), Crime Watch Daily: Community Actor Kills Veteran, Student For Money To Bankroll Honeymoon (part 1), "Lockup Orange County: Extended Stay: Unholy Trinity", Music to Be Murdered By Side B (Deluxe Edition), List of death row inmates in the United States, "Actor decapitated neighbor, performed in musical soon after", "Justice delayed: Why it took more than 5 years for trial of Daniel Wozniak, accused of killing 2, beheading one victim", "Community theater actor sentenced to death for killing, dismembering Afghanistan vet to pay for wedding", "Father describes horror of his dismembered son's murder", "Actor decapitates Army combat vet and kills vet's girlfriend", "After Local Theater Star Commits Grisly Double Murder for Cash, a Two-Year Quest for the Truth", "Daniel Wozniak Murders: Killer Had a Larger-Than-Life Personality, Friends Say", "Ex-actor Daniel Wozniak sentenced to death in double murder and grisly cover-up", "Actor's ex-fiance arrested in killings, dismemberment", "Brother of Death Row Double Murderer Dan Wozniak Held for Domestic Violence", "Ex-Disney Princess Lied to Police Hoping to Help Actor Fianc Get Away with Double-Murder", "Ex-fiance of Orange County killer Wozniak is sentenced as accessory", "Trial date set for convicted killer Daniel Wozniak's ex-fiancee Rachel Buffett Orange County Register", "Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder? and one of the things that those girls all had in common was that they were all attractive and blond and white and didn't have any criminal record. Does anyone have any theories or info on this one? and there were certain processes that it did pose a concern. >> 35 to 50? 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. but we don't know if it's him or not. >> the vice unit was watching a particular prostitute. well, if they were, so be it. >> 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. In this video we take a look at an infamous killer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, known as the West Mesa Bone Collector. >> do you think we're dealing with one guy here? >> so lorenzo was arrested for charges beyond just patronizing a prostitute. 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. >> no. i said it's michelle valdez. >> and just depending on where they're at, you wouldn't even see them up there. 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. >> it's a cold case. 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. Why was the vehicle that took the bodies, as it did not appear the victims were murdered, killed, or executed on site, to the Burial Grounds never noticed? >> reporter: whether in costume for a school play, dressed up for her first communion, or showing a budding interest in boys. 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. love for your gut. michelle had already been busted for receiving and transported stolen property, drug possession and car theft. and i don't have phone records. i just want to know when was the last time you saw her? The 11th, meanwhile, was 15-year-old Jamie Barela. you're keeping that quiet because you don't want somebody to confess to this who didn't do it. Where to Watch Dateline Mystery Dateline Mystery is available for streaming on the NBC News website, both individual episodes and full seasons. dan tried to keep a watchful eye on his girls and even took them to work with him at the juvenile detention center to show them on where careless mistakes can lead. Police say a woman walking her dog reported finding what appeared to be a femur on the mesa. an amusement park so he stepped on the dr. scholl's kiosk. >> missing persons is kind of a backwater in a lot of departments. One bears a. i used to live actually behind there when i was in college. i mean, that's not exactly, you know, the premier detective job. Valdez disappeared from Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 22, 2004. because savings is as savings does. and it was i thought perfect timing. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? "Dateline NBC" is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history and is in its 31st season. >> i told michelle she couldn't come over. Ross wasn't sure the bone was human, but knew it could be. "In this case, there was almost nothing but bones.". and they'd go through the alley, do their tricks in the alley. we approached the vehicle, open the door, the first words out of this girl's mouth, who's a known prostitute, was that he was trying to kill her. >> -- your daughter's a prostitute. Albuquerque Police DepartmentJoseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). 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. The mysteries surrounding the West Mesa Murders, an unsolved case of 11 female bodies discovered in a desert graveyard near Albuquerque in 2009. but ever since her early days in uniformed patrol, ida lopez has called them her girls. could be others. >> like?wr >> the drugs. so he's going to have close contact with these people. but she kept coming up empty. A&E reported how the group burial had all the hallmarks of a serial killer's actions.According to the Associated Press, February 2, 2022, marked the 13th . this photo, taken the following year, shows even more bare spots. he's a photographer. He choked her to death, and when the woman's boyfriend/pimp came looking for her, he shot and killed Montoya. for the moments that mattered most to her daughter, angelica. Photos, information and videos from Dateline here. These are the eleven victims identified in as being found in the dumping ground in the West Mesa. you know, it seems like they knew or something. no fingerprints. Combing the undeveloped West Mesa near 118th Street SW, detectives spent weeks uncovering all 11 graves. >> you can't say gun, knife, strangulation. Who do they party with? it's a lot of sifting and actually in the dirt. davy. it was my gateway to making contact with her and seeing her in person. they had the big telescoping lenses. >> 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. >> reporter: it had to be someone local, investigators assumed. dan valdez, her father, had reported michelle missing six months before ida got the case.c he was the guy who kept the calendar. >> she's like a lot of other cases that we had skeletal remains that come in. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. the killer, whoever he was, and police naturally assumed the killer was male, had a five-year head start. we don't know. 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. Lorenzo Montoya was killed in 2006 at his South Valley home less than two miles from the West Mesa burial site. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. >> whatever the killer's permanent address, those satellite photos were a huge break because they told police. Google MapsWest Mesa Murders satellite photos show the undeveloped land where the victims were discovered. >> i was devastated. >> i want to talk to you. >> i think it's somebody who's very organized. she struggled to hold it all together. >> if these women had been blond, white, and from the right part of town would you guys have sounded the alarm sooner? That threat and the circumstances of his death led police to suspect that Montoya had been the West Mesa Bone Collector. >> reporter: before long michelle valdez stopped showing up in her father's videos. awesome. i wasn't done. it's not the call girl. >> no. >> reporter: six weeks after the digging began out on the west mesa, even more sets of remains were identified. with the investigation now focused on finding a serial killer, ida thought back to her late-night chats with the women of the war zone. Albuquerqueans dont relate to the victims. >> could never trace it back. (NBC) "Dateline NBC" will air a two-hour special Friday on the latest in the investigation into the murders of the University of Idaho students Ethan . >> reporter: now investigators feared the serial killer they were hunting may have buried other bodies elsewhere in the vast desert west of town. in a blanket, and was preparing to dump her in the trunk of his car when the woman's boyfriend showed up. bill's back needed a afvacation from his vacation. 'd, and it was her, and they found, you know, she was pregnant. they were there constantly. >> no. Over time, a number of men have attracted police attention, though not named as full suspects, in connection with the murders. from the moment the west mesa murder case landed in their laps, detectives knew they would be chasing a phantom and grasping at smoke. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. and there's so much work that's always done behind the scenes to get them identified. >> i start going out there and talking to the girls. within days evidence of one body, had become evidence of two. happy birthday that september angelica celebrated her sixth birthday. By Vanessa R Martinez / NM News Port / It's now been ten years since the bodies of 11 women were found buried on the West Mesa of Albuquerque. "It appears that some of the women may be unconscious, again we . and looked bad. and in spite of their example, they can't quit the life. Wozniak was deeply in debt and wanted money to finance his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. any signs that the women knew each other. we had things that we wanted to keep very secret, or things that we didn't want released. shadows prostitutes. [9] Police confirmed that they had cleared Erwin as a suspect. and one of the locations that was searched was right next door to a newspaper. After more than five years of court proceedings, Wozniak went to trial and was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder. She was from Lawton, Oklahoma, and was reportedly last seen in Denver, police said. >> was the man whose house you served a search warrant on, is he a suspect? [26][27] Blea had women's underwear and jewellery not belonging to his wife or daughter in his home and allegedly told a cellmate that he had hired the West Mesa victims, who he called "trashy". maybe we ought to, you know, be a little more proactive. Albuquerque police released photos of unidentified women who may also be linked to the West Mesa murders. It was the most disturbing murder case Albuquerque police had ever seen and it remains unsolved to this day. 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. sad but common, especially for these dark streets where drug addiction and prostitution literally go hand in hand. The special will include exclusive interviews with 28-year-old Chambers . The investigators were concentrating, apparently, on the females on the street. Wozniak came under suspicion after he instructed a sixteen-year-old, Wesley Freilich, to withdraw money from Herr's accounts. >> you look at how many things had to have happened for these victims to be located. Article continues below advertisement >> what about those last seven girls? There are so many episodes online but I can't find this one, http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/dateline/somebodys-daughter-part-1-254001731808. >> so at one point at least you're sort of looking at truckers. >> 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. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, a severe reaction. 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. Case 27: The West Mesa Bone Collector. Dateline covered the murders. >> reporter: when christine ross decided to take her dog ruca for a walk. but she was unable to find the aunt or to pin down the source of the rumor. at first some of them were hesitant. The West Mesa Murders City of Albuquerque The 11 victims whose remains were discovered at the West Mesa site in 2009. so i would tell her, you know, mean things. However, the Albuquerque Police Department refuses to lose all hope and continues working on it with whatever leads they have. hopefully they've been in a commune in some mountainous town or in a rehab center or a jail or with friends that they're actually doing okay. 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. There has been little pressure on the police to investigate.. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. if the serial killer who preyed on their city is still alive, he's probably moved on to another hunting ground. we came upon it, and it appeared to be a bone. had been booked. i miss you, hon. >> there are other girls from out of state in the same -- you know, are we going to find another repeat? >> how much of your time is this taking? 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. -what a sign, huh? they deal with all kinds. Although Montoya fit the description, the West Mesa serial killer remains unidentified. michelle's little girl angelica was now the center of attention. >> i know 100% that my daughter is not alive. | Dr. Phil", "Dr. Phil | Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder? 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. so i keep them, do my full boheh background on them. now that's simple, easy, awesome. and nights and weekends playing steel guitar with his country band, cimarron. every life is a mystery. she said, michelle. >> so you get lucky. Are there any other episodes or podcasts you'd recommend that discuss this further? and i guess i just kind of wonder whether police and everybody else would have start of stepped up their game a little bit if that had been the case here. to her ending up out here. >> what we see very often is the women involved in prostitution work in what's called the circuit. a restless night's sleep. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. how can i help? serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, a severe reaction. >> reporter: of course all that changed once bones started. >> you're up half a mile to 3/4 of a mile from any populated area back in the time frame. i'm supposed to be in ceramics. Crime. ), First published on February 2, 2019 / 12:05 PM. >> reporter: but what kind of man is capable of killing is disposing of 11 women without somebody noticing something. make that phone call to us and we can link that individual to these crimes that have occurred here in albuquerque. That way if women started disappearing again, there might be more advocates who notice and help in raising concerns, Barber said. i mean $9000! >> reporter: the detectives needed a solid tip. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. he wouldn't say what the plans were because the only, you know, close person i knew had cancer and died. Getty Stock Images . Colorado Department of Corrections/Facebook Paige Birgfeld and Lester Jones. The Dateline episode "Somebody's Daughter" shines the light on Albuquerque Detective Ida Lopez. and detective ida lopez, who'd had their names on her list of missing women. -oh, a plaque. Police had also received a report of domestic violence from Montoya's girlfriend, who claimed he beat her and did "gross things" to her that she didn't want to elaborate on in the report. but for the most part the public didn't even know there was a list. >> reporter: a time frame, 2003 to early 2005, and 11 sets of bones. It would appear the killings stopped after his death. her nose and her eyes were very important. >> and the man in the car was? Ross walked her dog, Ruca, along along a dried-out wash in Albuquerque, New Mexico. >> somebody was trying to send a message at some point. Between 2002 and 2005, a serial killer who became known as the West Mesa Bone Collector murdered and buried 11 women in the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The case remains unsolved till date, with eight girls still missing. 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. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision. >> i didn't even -- i didn't even want to be around it anymore. The Albuquerque officers did not say that Erwin was a suspect. maybe i did something wrong. >> when was the last time you saw her? The graves held the remains of two teens and nine adults, one of whom, 22-year-old Gina Michelle Valdez, was four months pregnant when she died. a.p. Paige Birgfeld: Missing Mother Living a Double Life Was Kidnapped & Murdered. 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. >> reporter: -- no one who seemed to know something about the five-year missing persons cases was dialing the phone. young hispanic women with arrest records for drugs or prostitution. >> reporter: by the end of 2005 ida had five women on her list who were roughly the same age with similar backgrounds. and it was here while posing as a decoy during prostitution sting operations that she learned the raw power of their addictions. >> the reality, it was kind of, like this is not happening. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. Mesa and their son were shot outside their home, their son was only injured. we have to look into it. sometimes in the middle of her work week the albuquerque detective feels a pressing need, for spiritual solace and divine guidance. >> i said to one of my editors. Many had gone into sex work or had run away from home years before they died. activia. The series first aired on July 27, 2009. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. you don't have a school schedule or work schedule, that sort of thing. >> reporter: and so in july 2005, after a few months of recuperation as a reserve officer, the department offered ida a 20-hour-a-week desk job working missing persons. >> reporter: although 15-year-old jamie barela was not a prostitute, she was last seen with one, her cousin evelyn salazar, whose remains were also found on the mesa. and all had worked as prostitutes on the mean streets of the city's war zone. Wozniak lured Kibuishi to Herr's apartment, where he shot and killed her. and i thought, well, i need to make further plans. Your login session has expired. Ruca found a large bone protruding from the earthen trail. -you're not even enrolled in this class. >> 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. We'll do better next time, I promise! While the FBI created suspect profiles, Albuquerque police knocked on doors. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Paige Birgfeld, 34, was a well-liked . 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. 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. After more than five years of court proceedings, Wozniak went to trial and was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder.