Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. i'm guessing you noticed before anybody else. >> we figured she had been sexually assaulted and dumped here. (danny) every day you're nearly fried to a crisp, professionally! >> did you see her then? i have no idea how she got here. >> on the surface seems like a pretty good suspect. 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. According to Albuquerque's KQRE, Montoya hired a sex worker in December 2006 and took her to his home located less than two miles away from the site where the West Mesa victims were buried. >> reporter: before long michelle valdez stopped showing up in her father's videos. born to move. I think there's a Disappeared episode relating to it as well. According to the Albuquerque Police Department, something didn't sit right with Christine Ross when her dog Ruca found a bone on their walk in the West Mesa. >> she was a college student found on a lonely road in texas. >> reporter: ida lopez began this case with the mantra that everybody counts. >> reporter: it had to be someone local, investigators assumed. within days evidence of one body, had become evidence of two. he's a photographer. and there's so much work that's always done behind the scenes to get them identified. 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. and every time the phone rang his heart stopped. >> i have to keep believing that we'll find an answer soon. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. . >> it's a cold case. A private investigator working on the mystery of 11 female bodies found in the West Mesa desert says he's received another voice message from a man claiming . Not the clients. but the police who arrived at the scene shortly after nightfall soon determined that this was no ancient artifact. >> did you believe her story? There has been very little publicity. >> and under a desert sky the lost waited to be found. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. >> and you thought, this is it. Still, authorities have not given up. In a major plot twist, as they were about to be married, one had something to confess and the other dealt with the fallout. One day later, Hemraj's partially decomposed body was found in the terrace of the same home. Her daughter had found womens clothing and jewelry in their home, with some families later revealing that the victims jewelry was missing. actually, it was my grandfather raised me.ctdehiizedis s co enowas ait wde.lo he was about in his 80s. that the chin was specific for me. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. 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. But most of the other victims vanished with even fewer details. if you don't have faith in your law enforcement to treat everybody equal, then what do you have? you know, it's not what you see in vegas. if you find one, you're going to find them all. >> i'm freeding. [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. 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. >> so you were being a father all over again. >> how'd she look? >> reporter: soon there were five missing women with eerily similar profiles on ida's list. 12-year-old daughter, angelica. 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. >> reporter: this is what albuquerque police chief ray schultz says investigators saw. Wozniak led authorities to the area where almost all of Herr's dismembered body was found discarded at El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. But by 2009, when the bones were discovered, development had erased any hope of automobile evidence. The case remains unsolved till date, with eight girls still missing. Casefile True Crime. >> yes. most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. There are also photos of possible missing women that are connected to the case. [ soft piano music playing ] mm, uh, what do you do for fun? >> and just depending on where they're at, you wouldn't even see them up there. Dubbed the West Mesa Murders, they sparked a frenzy of investigations, interrogations, and media attention, but despite the best efforts of police to bring whoever was responsible to justice, the crimes remain unsolved to this day. 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. [7], Soon after, Wozniak was apprehended by US Marshals while at his bachelor party two days before his wedding. In 2005, Ida Lopez, an Albuquerque police detective, also noticed sex workers vanishing. >> she was last seen in denver. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. Looking back what has changed for women on the streets?". >> 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. >> 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. Police haven't ruled out that there might be more victims, and detectives still have multiple suspects, Gallegos said. 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. 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. >> it was real hard because you know, i'd be circling the block. that's all we really wanted, just to flash her picture real quick. quickbooks. a restless night's sleep. a data plan for everyone. The Albuquerque officers did not say that Erwin was a suspect. Somebody's Daughter: With Lester Holt, Ida Lopez, Josh Mankiewicz. >> we were always bumping heads. the first thing is they were human beings to begin with. Two years later a local family of four, the Wagners, are arrested and charged with the crimes. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision. 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. >> on the way back from arizona to here she promised, i'm not going to hang out with the same people, i'm going to do things different and you're going to be proud of me again, and then she bails two hours after she's home. >> reporter: dan valdez, who'd been wondering for years where his daughter was, saw his most cherished hopes and his most dreaded fears placed on a collision course. 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. her future seemed assured. Ross wasn't sure the bone was human, but knew it could be. >> when they told us that they had a young black girl, i thought, i didn't have a young black girl on my list. it's one of those timing issues we told you about earlier. >> was the man whose house you served a search warrant on, is he a suspect? 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. by 2002 the wear and tear is written all over her face. the killer, whoever he was, and police naturally assumed the killer was male, had a five-year head start. 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. Dateline - NBC.com Compelling mysteries, powerful documentaries, in-depth investigations. >> i was the only detective in there at the time. Handout from Costa Mesa Police Department -- Anyone who knew Julie Kibuishi described the 23-year-old dancer and college student from Southern California as kind and full of life. for ida lopez that's a mission statement. 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. 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. >> so what i usually do is i go back to see what their arrest history is. >> so this guy takes photographs of the part of town that you're sort of looking at. >> we approached the vehicle, opened the door. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. at first some of them were hesitant. >> i started looking into the missing and exploited children's website and was able to search through as many african-american females that matched the possible stature, where they might have been when they went missing. but is it true? n.d then there was the service part, the helping people part of police work. she'd come over and steal my things or, you know, i would se' how upset it would make my dad. >> reporter: this michelle, along with her sister camille and half sister kendra, was a cut-up and a clown. i'm sorry, i think you mean roses. love for your gut. no fingerprints. because, they suppose, all those earlier rumors about the women being abducted, killed, and dumped in the desert had to have started somewhere. maybe it was me not letting her come back to the house. They found rope and electrical tape during the search. >> i don't believe so. There's no question Stephen did it: But was he. They founded Safe Streets New Mexico in response to the threats sex workers face in the state and the lack of attention paid to violent crimes against them. and then she left it. Deadly House of Cards Air Date: September 16, 2011 tbd even thinking about the aerial photos evidence gives me chills to this day. that's why we're staying with homicidal violence. >> the vice unit was watching a particular prostitute. >> reporter: dan continued to cruise the war zone, willing himself to believe that his daughter was still out there. (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? [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. >> yeah, that did cross my mind numerous times. 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. and there were certain processes that it did pose a concern. [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]. >> reporter: over the years ida's list of the lost had grown to include close to two dozen women who fit the same basic profile -- young drug-addicted hispanic women who were known to wander the gritty streets of albuquerque's war zone. Although Montoya fit the description, the West Mesa serial killer remains unidentified. i mean, that's not exactly, you know, the premier detective job. >> and that's more than just a few guys. -what a sign, huh? it led them to a dead end. 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. 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. The mysteries surrounding the West Mesa Murders, an unsolved case of 11 female bodies discovered in a desert graveyard near Albuquerque in 2009. it's not the pretty woman. i'm just a normal person. it recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain. 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. . They think theyre just a bunch of hookers and drug addicts, he said. he's just an individual that came to our attention that we had to follow through. Almost no media coverage and the killer was never caught. Over time, a number of men have attracted police attention, though not named as full suspects, in connection with the murders. Thats why the West Mesa killer was able to do it, she said Christine Barber, the head of Safe Streets New Mexico, a non-profit that helps get women off the streets. and i thought, well, i need to make further plans. make that phone call to us and we can link that individual to these crimes that have occurred here in albuquerque. -oh, a plaque. >> and sometimes they make a a mistake. starts help healwith -hi!mplewithin. >> several of these victims were missing for months before anyone reported them missing. In 2006 there were reportedly dirt trails leading from his trailer park to the site. nexgard. It plans to tie them to fencing near the crime scene Saturday ahead of a gathering to mark the anniversary. >> it had to be brutally difficult to think of michelle living that kind of life. >> and whatever you tell us, it's no judgment at all. [4] At the time of the murders, Wozniak was deeply in debt and unemployed but planning a lavish wedding and honeymoon. but years later his death would be just as tough a break for detectives investigating the bodies found on the west mesa. they travel interstate. The Bone Collector- 11 bodies were found in the dessert of New Mexico. -ahhh. and it was here while posing as a decoy during prostitution sting operations that she learned the raw power of their addictions. it was tough. >> yes. >> honestly, i don't remember the last time i seen her. >> so we were able to, communicate with each other anything that came up. when had i last seen her? >> how many other detectives ins missing persons? 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. and i kind of was wobbling a little bit, and ida consoled me a little bit and said it's okay, you know, it's okay. Paige Birgfeld: Missing Mother Living a Double Life Was Kidnapped & Murdered. At first, it was like any other Monday night, but Feb. 2, 2009, would stick with Christine Ross forever. >> it's a lot of people. geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. A chilling lead came from satellite photos of the West Mesa Murders burial site. no. any trucker initiatives or murderers that the fbi sent us we posted on the wall. [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. According to A&E, Jaramillo and a woman named Christine Barber founded an organization to protect sex workers in New Mexico after the discovery of the West Mesa victims in 2009. A sinister force seems to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. >> the only body that has been identified so far, victoria chavez. They also found electrical tape and rope in his car when he was arrested in 2003 for exposing himself to a woman. >> reporter: most of the new girls either never knew or barely remember the women whose places they've taken. >> investigators are looking for connections. >> i didn't even -- i didn't even want to be around it anymore. >> even though you knew -- >> even though i knew that it could be going for drugs. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. an amusement park so he stepped on the dr. scholl's kiosk. a thigh bone had been found out on albuquerque's west mesa. podcast: Casefile True Crime. >> yeah. it's fast itch relief. love for your gut. In 2014, a breakthrough on a decades-old case caused Albuquerque police to become interested in Joseph Blea as a suspect for the murders. probably had some brush with law enforcement. TV Archive and all with the same name. >> reporter: in february, five months after michelle was last seen, dan went down to the albuquerque police station and formally reported his daughter missing. 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. 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. 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. The Discovery On February 2, 2009, a woman walking her dog along the West Mesa came across what appeared. 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. i never wanna hear you say no, kevin no, kevin! >> probably because he felt safe out here. all of her other victims were local. Joseph Blea was imprisoned when the bodies were found, but he became a suspect when his ex-wife contacted police. southwestern summer heat begins to ease hot air balloons rise like spring flowers over albuquerque and the surrounding desert. i mean, you'll see some out here that they need that fix. apoquel. i don't have a normal, you know, regular address. 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. >> reporter: that was true then, and it's true today. >> it's desert. In 2015, Blea was found guilty of sexual assault in charges stemming from incidents in the 1980s and 1990s and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. 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. >> 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. you know, my husband's got young kids to take care of. >> it's kind of eerie looking at those satellite photos. All Rights Reserved. Meet Detective Ida Lopez, bringing justice to missing women & their families. i mean he's a wreck without me. In 2007, before the harrowing discovery, the detective reportedly claimed that she had a file of more than 17 women, whom she referred to as "her girls," with similar backgrounds of addiction or prostitution who went missing between 2001 and 2006 from the Albuquerque streets. there's a better choice. >> so lorenzo was arrested for charges beyond just patronizing a prostitute. >> reporter: the total body count stayed at 11 sets of adult remains and one fetus. >> i looked up to her for many things. >> you're up half a mile to 3/4 of a mile from any populated area back in the time frame. Genre (s): Talk & Interview, Business, News, Documentary, Events & Specials Season 19 Episodes tbd S19:E72. >> reporter: that he once had a daughter named michelle who was the light of his life. backing you. >> it was growing, and i had kidney cancer. activia. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, a severe reaction. "Here is that mark of 10 years. All they ever found, however, were the bones and DNA of 11 people. >> a college campus gripped by fear. activia. 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. That way if women started disappearing again, there might be more advocates who notice and help in raising concerns, Barber said. 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. they had literally spent weeks in the trenches looking for bones at that abandoned construction site. a.p. gave her 20 bucks. and sometimes you've just got to stop and smell the savings. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. but you know what? Josh Mankiewicz reports from New Mexico. They gathered information from grieving families and locals, which helped clear up when the victims were last seen but not how they died. and for them. -he did show us how to bundle home and auto at progressive.com and save a bunch of money. missing persons were attractive women in their 20s, with arrest records for drugs and prostitution.r both had seemingly vanished without a word to friends or relatives. glad i could help. >> reporter: by the end of that year ida's list had grown to more than a dozen women. i just could feel all the strength in my body just kind of just drain all of a sudden. you know, it seems like they knew or something. help heal your skin from within. s i just learned the absolute e dependence on the drug for the girls because there's no way in your right mind you're going to get into a car and do what this person just told you to do. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid and the 12-hour pain-relieving strength of aleve. everyone. sunrise would bring news of his daughter michelle. 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. >> reporter: ida didn't completely disbelieve what her girls were telling her. Case 27: The West Mesa Bone Collector. 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. >> university of north texas identified jamie barela through dna. A sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. and detective ida lopez, who'd had their names on her list of missing women. and the guy goes toward him, and he's tackled by police. >> maybe there are women out there who aren't on any list. Furthermore, Police encountered Blea nearly 140 times between 1990 and 2009, often in drug-heavy areas that the victims were known to frequent. now that's simple, easy, awesome. michelle had already been busted for receiving and transported stolen property, drug possession and car theft.