The 7 identified women are as follows, Victoria Chavez, Michele Valdez and her unborn fetus, Juliann Nieto, Cinnamon Elks, Veronica Romero, Monica Candelaria, Doreen Marquez
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Albuquerque has a total of 24 missing women from 1998-2006. On February 2nd the skelatal remains of 12 women and one fetus was discovered by a dog named Ruca and Christine Ross on their daily walk in the West Mesa area on land owned by KB Homes. Since then a domino effect has came from this list of women where 7 are now identified. One of these 7 women was Doreen Marquez ...she was one of my best friends. I knew her since we were 17 years old and she went missing in October of 2003. The Identified women are Victoria Chavez, Michelle Valdez, Cinnamon Elks, Juliean Nieto, Veronica Romero and Doreen Marquez. All of them are form the list of 24 women from the missing, now identified. There are still many women who are missing, and their families are silently waiting in agony for the devestating news that we recieved on April 20th that confirmed that Doreen was among the women who were murdered in Albuquerques Mesa left like trash, buried in the desert.
One of the first articles
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- As of Friday afternoon, Albuquerque police have found bones belonging to 13 people buried in shallow graves on the city's West Mesa.
The discoveries at the dig site near 118th St. and Dennis Chavez Blvd. are making a lot of people nervous because there are still many questions surrounding a police investigation. People also want to know who buried the bodies and how long they have been there.
Friday morning, crews found human hair at the site and found more skeletal remains.
Neighbors said they are worried that the body was recently dumped, but authorities said that was not the case and the body has been buried for years.
People who live near the dig site also said they want to know who is responsible for dumping the bodies on the mesa, even though police said no one should be in fear of a serial killer on the loose. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- As of Friday afternoon, Albuquerque police have found bones belonging to 13 people buried in shallow graves on the city's West Mesa.
The discoveries at the dig site near 118th St. and Dennis Chavez Blvd. are making a lot of people nervous because there are still many questions surrounding a police investigation. People also want to know who buried the bodies and how long they have been there.
Friday morning, crews found human hair at the site and found more skeletal remains.
Neighbors said they are worried that the body was recently dumped, but authorities said that was not the case and the body has been buried for years.
People who live near the dig site also said they want to know who is responsible for dumping the bodies on the mesa, even though police said no one should be in fear of a serial killer on the loose.
Some neighbors said that's still not a comfort.
Iris Acosta said, "I am worried because it's like they are finding girls and not guys, and we can't go out anymore. I'm scared that someone is going to get us or something."
Cathrine Chacon said, "He could be around my neighborhood. He could be out in the streets. He could be burying bodies somewhere else. It is spooky. I want him to be found."
Police said they will continue looking for more bodies on the West Mesa and that their investigation is just getting under way.
Some neighbors said that's still not a comfort.
Iris Acosta said, "I am worried because it's like they are finding girls and not guys, and we can't go out anymore. I'm scared that someone is going to get us or something."
Cathrine Chacon said, "He could be around my neighborhood. He could be out in the streets. He could be burying bodies somewhere else. It is spooky. I want him to be found."
Police said they will continue looking for more bodies on the West Mesa and that their investigation is just getting under way.
The discoveries at the dig site near 118th St. and Dennis Chavez Blvd. are making a lot of people nervous because there are still many questions surrounding a police investigation. People also want to know who buried the bodies and how long they have been there.
Friday morning, crews found human hair at the site and found more skeletal remains.
Neighbors said they are worried that the body was recently dumped, but authorities said that was not the case and the body has been buried for years.
People who live near the dig site also said they want to know who is responsible for dumping the bodies on the mesa, even though police said no one should be in fear of a serial killer on the loose. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- As of Friday afternoon, Albuquerque police have found bones belonging to 13 people buried in shallow graves on the city's West Mesa.
The discoveries at the dig site near 118th St. and Dennis Chavez Blvd. are making a lot of people nervous because there are still many questions surrounding a police investigation. People also want to know who buried the bodies and how long they have been there.
Friday morning, crews found human hair at the site and found more skeletal remains.
Neighbors said they are worried that the body was recently dumped, but authorities said that was not the case and the body has been buried for years.
People who live near the dig site also said they want to know who is responsible for dumping the bodies on the mesa, even though police said no one should be in fear of a serial killer on the loose.
Some neighbors said that's still not a comfort.
Iris Acosta said, "I am worried because it's like they are finding girls and not guys, and we can't go out anymore. I'm scared that someone is going to get us or something."
Cathrine Chacon said, "He could be around my neighborhood. He could be out in the streets. He could be burying bodies somewhere else. It is spooky. I want him to be found."
Police said they will continue looking for more bodies on the West Mesa and that their investigation is just getting under way.
Some neighbors said that's still not a comfort.
Iris Acosta said, "I am worried because it's like they are finding girls and not guys, and we can't go out anymore. I'm scared that someone is going to get us or something."
Cathrine Chacon said, "He could be around my neighborhood. He could be out in the streets. He could be burying bodies somewhere else. It is spooky. I want him to be found."
Police said they will continue looking for more bodies on the West Mesa and that their investigation is just getting under way.
Left: Doreen MarquezFamily mourns loss of loved oneDoreen MarquezA tearful sister of the latest woman to be identified on the West Mesa says she knew her sister was buried on the site where eleven bodies have been found.When police began identifying the first couple of victims, Doreen Marquez's sister, Julie Gonzales, took a trip out to the West Mesa grave site. She said she could sense Doreen was there. And as the family found out Monday night, Julie’s intuition was correct.Eleven women, including one who was pregnant, have been unearthed from a 100-acre dirt lot at 118th and Dennis Chavez since February.Doreen knew some of the other identified victims, all women with checkered pasts, early to mid 20s, all who went missing around 2004. (more...)This whole Albuquerque serial killing is sad, so upsetting to see them identified one after the other.From my original listing all the following are still missing:From left to right:missing since 07/04/2001, Darlene Trujillo, 27missing since 10/03/2002, Sonia Lente, 49missing since 04/14/2003, Christine Julian, 30From left to right:missing since 05/30/2003, Brenda Jeen Apalicio, 29missing since 03/26/2004, Evelyn Salazar, 29 and Jamie Barela, 15From left to right:missing since 04/13/2004, Virginia Cloven, 26missing since 2005, Felipa Gonzales, 25missing since 01/21/2005, Anna Vigil, 23From left to right:missing since 05/14/2005, Nina Herron, 23missing since 2006, Shawntell Waites, 31missing since 05/22/2006, Leah Peebles, 24Missing since June 2006, Vanessa Lujan, 25 v
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bodies Found but Mystery Lingers for Kin of Missing Women
By DAN FROSCH
Published: March 23, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE — The last time anyone saw Michelle Valdez, she was working the streets of the War Zone, a neighborhood of housing projects, heroin and sex shops near the University of
Sergio Salvador/Associated Press
The authorities also identified the remains of, from left, Cinnamon Elks, Julie Nieto and Victoria Chavez.
It was 2004, and like a growing number of young prostitutes here, Ms. Valdez, a 22-year-old mother of two, had vanished one day. Save for the close-knit group of women she hustled with, and the parents who had lost her to the streets, Ms. Valdez’s disappearance went virtually unnoticed.
But on Feb. 2, a woman walking her dog came across bones scattered about a dusty mesa on the western edge of the city. Soon after, the police found Ms. Valdez’s remains and those of the four-month-old fetus she was carrying. They also discovered the remains of 11 other bodies — bodies the police say could match a list of at least 16 young women who disappeared in Albuquerque from 2001 to 2006.
The emerging story of the bodies on the West Mesa has held the city rapt for weeks, unmasking a darker Albuquerque where young women were vanishing and not many people were paying attention.
“Even with her faults, Michelle was sensitive, generous and loving,” said Karen Jackson, who had been searching for Ms. Valdez, her daughter, since the day she stopped calling home. “That somebody would do this to my daughter and dump her like she was a piece of trash and leave her lying out there with no dignity.
“I am devastated, and I am angry.”
Three other bodies have been identified — Julie Nieto, 28; Cinnamon Elks, 36, and Victoria Chavez, 30 — and the police say the women knew each other from the streets. Chief Ray Schultz of the Albuquerque Police Department said that the 100-acre crime scene was the largest in the city’s history and that his department had committed considerable resources to the case.
“We are looking at every different possibility and scenario,” Chief Schultz said. “Everyone in the organization is taking this case personally.”
Such assurances have rung hollow for many families who fear their loved ones were buried on the mesa. For years, they said, they implored the police to do something; but the lead detective assigned to the missing women, they said, rarely returned calls and kept families in the dark.
Lori Gallegos, whose childhood friend Doreen Marquez vanished in October 2003 and is on the police list of lost women, said Ms. Marquez’s family had relayed many tips to the police but waited months before hearing back. Family members described Ms. Marquez as an outgoing young woman who drifted into prostitution to support her heroin addiction.
“You think the police are supposed to help,” Ms. Gallegos said. “It makes me angry. They disregarded Doreen as if it was not important she was missing.”
Chief Schultz disputed accusations that the cases were ignored because many of the women were prostitutes. “We didn’t write these cases off,” he said.
He said some of the women were not reported missing until months after they had disappeared, making the investigation difficult.
At a meeting in Albuquerque, families of women on the list passed around photographs of loved ones and told of scouring the city’s streets alone.
One man, John Peebles, has driven from Fort Worth each year hoping to find his daughter Leah, who disappeared on May 22, 2006.
Mr. Peebles said his daughter, a hairstylist, started using heroin as a teenager after being raped by a high school acquaintance and had come to Albuquerque for a fresh start. Almost three weeks later, she was gone.
Mr. Peebles peppered the city with fliers, staked out dangerous neighborhoods and was cornered by angry pimps. One day, a drug-dazed prostitute led him behind a truck stop where she had promised Ms. Peebles might be waiting. But the woman’s lead proved fruitless.
“I really thought I was going to find her,” Mr. Peebles said. “It’s just been sleepless nights and sick-filled days. I would give anything to see her again.”
Indeed, theories about the killer have been whispered among families and through the Albuquerque streets.
Ms. Jackson recalled that just months after Ms. Valdez disappeared, her sister Camille received a strange phone call from a friend offering her condolences and saying she had heard that Ms. Valdez had been “stabbed a bunch of times and thrown out somewhere.”
Last year, Ms. Gallegos tracked down a pimp who she said had nude pictures of some of the missing women, including Ms. Marquez. But the man told her he did not know what happened to Ms. Marquez, and he died in January before Ms. Gallegos could press him further.
The family of Darlene Trujillo, another missing woman, is convinced that she was abducted and taken to Mexico after disappearing with a heroin dealer on July 4, 2001. A man who claimed to have information about Ms. Trujillo turned up murdered, said Liz Perez, a family friend.
One of many theories the police say they are considering involves a man named Lorenzo Montoya. On Dec. 16, 2006, in a well-publicized case, the police said Mr. Montoya bound and choked to death a young prostitute, Shericka Hill, after luring her to his trailer a few miles from the West Mesa. Ms. Hill’s pimp, who had grown suspicious while waiting outside, burst into the trailer, shooting and killing Mr. Montoya.
According to an article in The Albuquerque Journal at the time, Mr. Montoya had a record of soliciting prostitutes. He had also been charged with sexually assaulting a prostitute, but the case was dismissed.
The police note that the sharp increase in the number of missing women stopped around the time of Mr. Montoya’s death.
One former prostitute, who was close with some of the victims, said in an interview that she had been choked and raped by Mr. Montoya after he picked her up in the War Zone in 1995.
“He told me, ‘You’re lucky; I was going to kill you,’ ” recalled the woman, who was granted anonymity because she said she believed that she and her family could face repercussions.
Back on the mesa, a team of F.B.I. forensic experts, local police officers and an archaeologist continue to dig through the dirt, as the state medical investigator’s office works to identify the remaining bones.
Some families, meanwhile, are trying to raise money for the funerals they sense are coming. Others continue to seek answers on their own.
“It’s been the most horrible feeling, because we don’t know whether we should grieve, be angry, or cling to that small glimmer of hope,” Ms. Gallegos said. “Nobody has listened to us for so many years.”
NY TIMES FOLLOW UP ARTICLE BY DAN FROSCH
May 14, 2009 - Thursday
NY TIMES ARTICLE RUNNING TOMMORROW BY DAN FROSCH Category: News and Politics
Identities of Bodies Found on Mesa Emerge, but Killer Remains Cloaked
By DAN FROSCH
Published: May 14, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE — Three months after the remains of 11 adults and a fetus were found buried on a dust-swept mesa here, the police say they are making progress in solving the killings. But relatives of the victims are skeptical.
Seven sets of remains have been identified, and the similarities are haunting. All were young women. All had drifted into prostitution or drugs. And all matched a police list of young women who had vanished off the streets of Albuquerque from 2001 to 2006.
Clues have been hard to come by, however, and digging at the 100-acre crime scene was suspended last month. On April 24, the police released photographs of a beige acrylic fingernail belonging to one of the victims, hoping someone would recognize the salon that produced it. But there have been no matches.
An “America’s Most Wanted” segment on the deaths, which was broadcast on April 25, generated dozens of tips, but most turned out to be psychic “premonitions” about the case, said Officer Nadine Hamby, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department.
Investigators are also now looking into “persons of interest” in the case, both alive and dead, Officer Hamby said. That includes people incarcerated in New Mexico and Texas and those with a criminal history of soliciting prostitutes and drugs.
“Not only is the chief confident,” Officer Hamby said, “but the entire task force is confident that we’re going to find who’s responsible for these poor victims.”
Still, many families of the victims have grown uneasy with the handling of the case. They praise the resources law enforcement has devoted to the crime scene but insist it has come too late.
Monica Candelaria’s remains were among those discovered on the mesa. Her mother, Isabel Candelaria, said that shortly after her daughter disappeared in May 2003, she reported to a Bernalillo County sheriff’s detective that a man in her neighborhood named Isaac was overheard saying that Monica Candelaria had been killed and taken to the mesa.
Unconvinced that the police would follow up, Ms. Candelaria said her family spent nearly a month scouring the same land where her daughter’s body would be discovered years later.
A 2003 missing persons report from the Sheriff’s Department confirms Ms. Candelaria’s account. The report said that after Ms. Candelaria informed the department about Isaac, a detective had searched an area near the mesa; the report said that a human jawbone was found there but that it did not match Monica Candelaria’s. The report also shows the matter was turned over to the cold case unit, which followed leads.
“I knew my daughter was buried out there, I just didn’t know if they would ever find her remains,” Ms. Candelaria said. “Maybe some of the girls’ lives would have been saved if they had found my daughter’s body then.”
Like other victims’ family members, Desireé Gonzales, whose cousin Veronica Romero was also found on the mesa, told of filling out missing persons reports and blanketing the city with posters shortly after Ms. Romero went missing in 2004. Ms. Gonzales said she had lost hope the case would ever be cracked.
“They haven’t done nothing for all these years,” she said of the police.
At a meeting on April 30, families said the police told them not to speak with reporters or they would risk ruining the investigation. Many left the meeting feeling frightened and confused, said Dan Valdez, whose daughter Michelle was found on the mesa with her unborn fetus.
“They want people to forget about this,” Mr. Valdez said. “But I’m not going to let them, and neither is anybody else.”
Officer Hamby said the police simply requested that families keep important information to themselves for now.
Meanwhile, families have taken to holding public vigils and meetings. Last week, after being approached by a few victims’ families, Clear Channel Outdoor New Mexico began running images of the seven identified women, along with the number for a tip hot line, on 17 of its digital billboards here.
Lori Gallegos, whose friend Doreen Marquez was buried on the mesa, said the families remained fearful their loved ones would be forgotten.
“The police have done an outstanding job with the crime scene,” Ms. Gallegos said. “But right now, the families don’t know who to trust. They don’t know who to believe.”
NY TIMES ARTICLE RUNNING TOMMORROW BY DAN FROSCH Category: News and Politics
Identities of Bodies Found on Mesa Emerge, but Killer Remains Cloaked
By DAN FROSCH
Published: May 14, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE — Three months after the remains of 11 adults and a fetus were found buried on a dust-swept mesa here, the police say they are making progress in solving the killings. But relatives of the victims are skeptical.
Seven sets of remains have been identified, and the similarities are haunting. All were young women. All had drifted into prostitution or drugs. And all matched a police list of young women who had vanished off the streets of Albuquerque from 2001 to 2006.
Clues have been hard to come by, however, and digging at the 100-acre crime scene was suspended last month. On April 24, the police released photographs of a beige acrylic fingernail belonging to one of the victims, hoping someone would recognize the salon that produced it. But there have been no matches.
An “America’s Most Wanted” segment on the deaths, which was broadcast on April 25, generated dozens of tips, but most turned out to be psychic “premonitions” about the case, said Officer Nadine Hamby, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department.
Investigators are also now looking into “persons of interest” in the case, both alive and dead, Officer Hamby said. That includes people incarcerated in New Mexico and Texas and those with a criminal history of soliciting prostitutes and drugs.
“Not only is the chief confident,” Officer Hamby said, “but the entire task force is confident that we’re going to find who’s responsible for these poor victims.”
Still, many families of the victims have grown uneasy with the handling of the case. They praise the resources law enforcement has devoted to the crime scene but insist it has come too late.
Monica Candelaria’s remains were among those discovered on the mesa. Her mother, Isabel Candelaria, said that shortly after her daughter disappeared in May 2003, she reported to a Bernalillo County sheriff’s detective that a man in her neighborhood named Isaac was overheard saying that Monica Candelaria had been killed and taken to the mesa.
Unconvinced that the police would follow up, Ms. Candelaria said her family spent nearly a month scouring the same land where her daughter’s body would be discovered years later.
A 2003 missing persons report from the Sheriff’s Department confirms Ms. Candelaria’s account. The report said that after Ms. Candelaria informed the department about Isaac, a detective had searched an area near the mesa; the report said that a human jawbone was found there but that it did not match Monica Candelaria’s. The report also shows the matter was turned over to the cold case unit, which followed leads.
“I knew my daughter was buried out there, I just didn’t know if they would ever find her remains,” Ms. Candelaria said. “Maybe some of the girls’ lives would have been saved if they had found my daughter’s body then.”
Like other victims’ family members, Desireé Gonzales, whose cousin Veronica Romero was also found on the mesa, told of filling out missing persons reports and blanketing the city with posters shortly after Ms. Romero went missing in 2004. Ms. Gonzales said she had lost hope the case would ever be cracked.
“They haven’t done nothing for all these years,” she said of the police.
At a meeting on April 30, families said the police told them not to speak with reporters or they would risk ruining the investigation. Many left the meeting feeling frightened and confused, said Dan Valdez, whose daughter Michelle was found on the mesa with her unborn fetus.
“They want people to forget about this,” Mr. Valdez said. “But I’m not going to let them, and neither is anybody else.”
Officer Hamby said the police simply requested that families keep important information to themselves for now.
Meanwhile, families have taken to holding public vigils and meetings. Last week, after being approached by a few victims’ families, Clear Channel Outdoor New Mexico began running images of the seven identified women, along with the number for a tip hot line, on 17 of its digital billboards here.
Lori Gallegos, whose friend Doreen Marquez was buried on the mesa, said the families remained fearful their loved ones would be forgotten.
“The police have done an outstanding job with the crime scene,” Ms. Gallegos said. “But right now, the families don’t know who to trust. They don’t know who to believe.”
Doreen Marquez was missing for five long years and discovered buried in the West Mesa with 10 other skeletal remains including Victoria Chavez, Michelle Valdez along with her fetus, Cinnamon Elks, Monica Candelaria, Julie Nieto. As of the date Doreen was found on April 20, 2009, four unidentified women still remain.
Every year in Albuquerque, New Mexico there are hundreds of adults reported missing. Most of the time these missing adults turn up and are unharmed and just ended up on some sort of adventure.
From 2001 to 2004 a list of 16 young women within the Albuquerque metro area were still open and the women were still considered as missing. In February a mass grave was discovered by Rucca, Christine Rosses dog, while they were on a walk. The femur bone of Victoria Chavez was discovered and led to the discovery of the remains of Doreen Marquez, Michelle Valdez and her unborn fetus, Cinnamon Elks,Veronica Romero, Monica Candelaria,Julie Nieto. Doreen was a daughter, cousin, niece, auntie, and most importantly, a beloved mother. It has been five long years since Doreen's disappearance and murder. She has two beautiful daughters. Doreen's friends and family are determined to do what it takes to find out what happened to Doreen and the other west Mesa victims. We all believe that no stone should be left unturned and are requesting your help in getting this information out there.
Even if you didn't know Doreen or any of the other young women that are still missing and identified, this still concerns you. If someone is responsible for the murder and disappearance of these young women, ask yourself: "Do you really want such an individual in YOUR community?"
With so many different people on the internet, and the number of people onthe internet growing everyday the math is simple, somebody out there knows something or knows somebody who knows. Please help Doreen's and the families of the other women who were found on the mesa. God Bless You!
This page is dedicated to the memory of Doreen Marquez and is a place for Doreen's family, friends, and the community in which Doreen lived a place to come together and help each other to find the truth for Doreen and all the victims involved.
Doreen Marquez would be 32 years old right now, her birthday is August 31 1976. Doreen went missing in October 2003. She was last seen in the Barelas neighborhood. She has two daughters Destiny 14 years old and Mercedes 12 years old. Her mother is Dorothy, her sisters are Tiny and Bubbles and her brother is Gordo. Doreen went missing when she was 27 years old. If anyone has any information please send a message or call Ida Lopez at the Albuquerque Missing persons division at 505- 924-6093. Doreen is Hispanic, she is 5'3 and weighed 130 lbs she has brown eyes and long naturally curly hair, she was olive complected and a deck of cards tattoo on her right ankle of the Queen of hearts. She was one of my best friends and her family misses her very much. Please help try to find out who did this heinous disgusting crime.
Every year in Albuquerque, New Mexico there are hundreds of adults reported missing. Most of the time these missing adults turn up and are unharmed and just ended up on some sort of adventure.
From 2001 to 2004 a list of 16 young women within the Albuquerque metro area were still open and the women were still considered as missing. In February a mass grave was discovered by Rucca, Christine Rosses dog, while they were on a walk. The femur bone of Victoria Chavez was discovered and led to the discovery of the remains of Doreen Marquez, Michelle Valdez and her unborn fetus, Cinnamon Elks,Veronica Romero, Monica Candelaria,Julie Nieto. Doreen was a daughter, cousin, niece, auntie, and most importantly, a beloved mother. It has been five long years since Doreen's disappearance and murder. She has two beautiful daughters. Doreen's friends and family are determined to do what it takes to find out what happened to Doreen and the other west Mesa victims. We all believe that no stone should be left unturned and are requesting your help in getting this information out there.
Even if you didn't know Doreen or any of the other young women that are still missing and identified, this still concerns you. If someone is responsible for the murder and disappearance of these young women, ask yourself: "Do you really want such an individual in YOUR community?"
With so many different people on the internet, and the number of people onthe internet growing everyday the math is simple, somebody out there knows something or knows somebody who knows. Please help Doreen's and the families of the other women who were found on the mesa. God Bless You!
This page is dedicated to the memory of Doreen Marquez and is a place for Doreen's family, friends, and the community in which Doreen lived a place to come together and help each other to find the truth for Doreen and all the victims involved.
Doreen Marquez would be 32 years old right now, her birthday is August 31 1976. Doreen went missing in October 2003. She was last seen in the Barelas neighborhood. She has two daughters Destiny 14 years old and Mercedes 12 years old. Her mother is Dorothy, her sisters are Tiny and Bubbles and her brother is Gordo. Doreen went missing when she was 27 years old. If anyone has any information please send a message or call Ida Lopez at the Albuquerque Missing persons division at 505- 924-6093. Doreen is Hispanic, she is 5'3 and weighed 130 lbs she has brown eyes and long naturally curly hair, she was olive complected and a deck of cards tattoo on her right ankle of the Queen of hearts. She was one of my best friends and her family misses her very much. Please help try to find out who did this heinous disgusting crime.
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