S1. E100 - Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Unsolved Serial Killer: The West Mesa Missing
Description
The Pandemonium team is back, and this week Cat, Rachel, and Meg turn their focus to one of New Mexico’s darkest mysteries - the West Mesa Murders. In 2009, a woman walking her dog stumbled across human bones on Albuquerque’s West Mesa.
What followed was the shocking discovery of 11 women buried in the desert, all believed to be victims of a still-unidentified serial killer. Despite years of investigation, theories, and suspects, the case remains unsolved, leaving families without answers and a community haunted by the thought of a predator who may still be out there.
From the victims’ stories to the hunt for the so-called “West Mesa Bone Collector,” we unravel the chilling mystery that still casts a long shadow over Albuquerque.
((For this particular episode, Cat took their mugshots and created high school yearbook photos for each of the victims - as they should be remembered for who they were - not what they did for work.))
Get your hydration station ready (and maybe don’t go walking alone in the desert), as we dive into this haunting case.
Links We Used:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Mesa_murders
- https://www.cabq.gov/police/contact-the-police/west-mesa-homicide-investigation
- https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1jn75v7/the_west_mesa_bone_collector_the_tragic_case/
- https://www.koat.com/article/police-support-new-dna-bill-as-west-mesa-murder-cases-remain-cold/63644264
- https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/west-mesa-serial-killer-search
- https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=spectrum
- https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/families-apd-seek-answers-16-years-after-west-mesa-murders/
- https://www.aetv.com/tags/west-mesa-murders
- https://casefilepodcast.com/case-27-west-mesa-bone-collector/
- https://deadline.com/2024/07/west-mesa-murders-true-crime-series-boneyard-director-1236008367/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7531914/
- https://www.koat.com/article/west-mesa-murders-movie-took-some-creative-liberties/61548949
- https://olj1002.wixsite.com/westmesamurders
- https://www.koat.com/article/candelaria-s-family-finds-grief-closure/5029846
- https://charleyproject.org/case/julie-cyndie-nieto
- http://www.abqjournal.com/
- https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/17%20Regular/memorials/senate/SM113.HTML
- https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-104045.pdf
- https://www.reddit.com/r/NotForgotten/comments/xm8nww/darlene_marie_trujillo/
- http://charleyproject.org/case/felipa-victoria-gonzales
- https://websleuths.com/threads/nm-martha-jo-lucher-32-albuquerque-3-sep-2003.379788/
- https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=3915dfnm
- https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3921dfnm.html
- https://charleyproject.org/case/nina-brenda-herron
- https://charleyproject.org/case/vanessa-reed
- https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP603
- https://charleyproject.org/case/leah-rachelle-peebles
- https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org/mmiw
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-west-mesa-burial-sit/27687319/
- https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24A338.html
- https://www.arroyohondo.org/image-gallery/aerial-photos
- https://www.krwg.org/regional/2015-06-03/man-convicted-tuesday-in-girls-rape-from-26-years-ago
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40555025/gina_michelle-valdez
- https://www.cabq.gov/police/images/elks_cinnamon_small.jpg/image_view_fullscreen
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40555365/juliean-cyndie-nieto
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179033144/evelyn_jesus_maria-salazar
- https://charleyproject.org/case/jamie-caterina-barela
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99491001/virginia_ann-cloven
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134036816/doreen-marquez
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78230119/syllannia_terene-edwards
- https://charleyproject.org/case/monica-diana-candelaria
- https://charleyproject.org/case/victoria-ann-chavez
United States
