FortWorth Murders - El Paso Newspaper Article

004 El Paso Times (El Paso, TX)
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El Paso Times (El Paso, TX)

March 8, 2004 Monday

SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 1487 words
HEADLINE: 72 El Paso slayings still open; Police have new squad to solve old cases
BYLINE: By Tammy Fonce-Olivas, El Paso Times
BODY:
With each day, Northeast resident Cruz Carder sees her hopes fade that police will find the person who stabbed her daughter to death three years ago this month.
Friday was the anniversary of her daughter's homicide, and in years past, the family had made it a point to gather at Jennifer Fierro Wood's tomb to remember her, but that did not happen this year.
"It's just been too hard. They say it gets easier with time, but it doesn't,"
Carder said. "A lot of it has to do with knowing that he's been out there for so long and that he hasn't been brought to justice."
The heartache consuming this mother also affects El Paso Police Department Detective David Samaniego, who was assigned to investigate the case three years ago. "You sort of feel like you let the family down. Everybody needs closure, and that's important to us, too. I wouldn't want to see myself in their shoes,"
Samaniego said. To help solve killings that are more than a year old, interim Police Chief Richard Wiles has created the Cold Case Squad. The squad, which was created less than three weeks ago, is made up of six police investigators who are reviewing piles of paperwork and evidence of unsolved homicides.
Sgt. Victor Hinojosa, a supervisor assigned to the squad, said that since 1966, police have investigated 72 homicides that remain unsolved -- 71 of those are now assigned to the Cold Case Squad.
One of the unsolved cases, from Dec. 24, 2003, is being investigated by the Crimes Against Persons Unit because it is not yet considered a cold case, Hinojosa said.
According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, an extension of the U.S. Department of Justice, homicides without significant leads or witness participation in the first 72 hours are likely to become cold cases.
Once a homicide is labeled a cold case, the probability of it getting solved is reduced because of the volume of new cases and new police initiatives redirectingresources.
Police spokesman Javier Sambrano said the department was able to create a squad to investigate unsolved killings because the volume of work has declined with the department's recent success at solving homicide cases. Since 1999, police have investigated 91 homicides, 87 of which -- or nearly 96 percent -- have been solved, Sambrano said.
Whatever the department's reason for creating the team, the promise the Cold Case Squad offers is what's important to Fierro Wood's relatives.
"I think it's a wonderful idea. I know they've worked hard on my daughter's case; I know that for a fact. But a lot of times, they've put it off because of other homicides. I only wish it had come sooner," Carder said. Hinojosa said police are heavily dependent on the community when it comes to solving crimes. Without the community providing tips and witness testimony, it is difficult to make an arrest, he said.
In hopes of getting the community's assistance in solving cold cases, the squad plans to highlight an unsolved killing each month. "We will be doing this specifically to try and generate new leads. One of the big things is possibly finding someone who back then knew something about a case but hesitated to come forward. Maybe they will be willing to come forward now," Hinojosa said.
Sgt. James Belknap of the El Paso County Sheriff's Department's Crimes Against Persons Unit, agrees that community involvement is key to solving homicides.Belknap said sheriff's investigators are asking the community for help in solving two killings committed earlier this year outside the city limits. These slayings are the only homicides reported by the Sheriff's Department during the past 15 months.
One of the victims is Armando Ignacio Hernandez, 46, who was found stabbed to death Jan. 12 at his home in the 8600 block of Coach in Westway. The other homicide was discovered the same day, when authorities found the body of a man, whose identity remains unknown, about 330 feet from the road in the 7800 block of South Desert. He had been shot and burned.
"Anytime you can get a citizen to offer any help, it can point us in the right direction in any investigation, but it takes citizen input to make it work.
The community is the most valuable tool we have," Belknap said.
Hinojosa said that in addition to community assistance, advances in the way police collect evidence, as well as new DNA and fingerprint technology, should help police solve cold cases.
Police have already proven that new technology can help solve cold cases, Hinojosa said.
In 2002, police arrested Robert Velasquez and charged him with the Sept. 11, 1975, murder of Miriam Coppenbarger after new technology used by police matched his fingerprints to those lifted at the crime scene. In January of this year, a jury in state court sentenced Velasquez to a 29 years in prison, mirroring the number of years prosecutors said he had been free since killing Coppenbarger.
For Samaniego, who has been assigned to the Cold Case Squad, the department's ability to solve a 29-year-old murder has been inspiring, especially because he's been haunted by the inability to resolve the Fierro Wood case.
Friday "was the anniversary of her death, and I still called her mom to tell her that we are still looking into it," Samaniego said.
To help. The Sheriff's Department is asking for the public's help in identifying the body of a man found shot and burned in the Vinton area Jan. 13.. Anyone with information about this case should call 546-2280.

OTHER CASES

Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or any other crimes committed within the city limits may call the El Paso Police Department at 564-7010.
Tips may also be reported to Crime Stoppers at 566-8477.
Emergencies should be reported to 911.

Online Extra
Unsolved murders
The El Paso Police Department reports 72 unsolved homicides since 1966.
The killings, including the victim's cause of death are:

.Dec. 24, 2003: Fernando Martinez, shot.
.Sept. 20, 2002: Camilo Esparza, shot.
.March 5, 2001: Jennifer Fierro Wood, stabbed.
.June 2, 1999: Sandra Luz Chacon, stabbed.
.Jan. 7, 1997: Leonel Vigil, shot.
.March 10, 1997: Guillermo Lujan, stabbed.
.Dec. 15, 1997: William Barfield, beaten.
.March 3, 1996: Alejandro Arredondo, shot.
.Feb. 7, 1995: Celia Loya, beaten.
.Feb. 11, 1994: Bobby Joe Thompson, stabbed.
.April 12, 1994: Rafael Vasquez, shot.
.July 30, 1994: John Doe, burned.
.Aug. 11, 1994: Santoni Family, stabbed.
.Nov. 27, 1994: Jaime Virchis Moreno, shot.
.Jan. 11, 1993: Jorge Hernandez, stabbed.
.March 18, 1993: Dahlia Alvarez, stabbed.
.Aug. 6, 1991: Rodolfo Acosta, shot.
.Jan. 8, 1989: Angela Irsay, unknown.
.April 9, 1989: Stephen Hicks, beaten.
.April 29, 1989: Humberto Palacios, beaten.
.May 26, 1989: Rosalinda Reyes, stabbed.
.Nov. 6, 1989: Francis Yvonne Williams, unknown.
.Dec. 24, 1988: Luis Miguel Alvarado, beaten.
.May 17, 1986: Ernesto Pineda, stabbed.
.June 8, 1986: Emilia Amador Vargas, strangled.
.Nov. 14, 1986: Fernando Aguirre, shot.
.June 8, 1985: Arturo Bastidos, beaten.
.Jan. 8, 1985: Freda Peters, strangled.
.Dec. 31, 1984: Floyd Williams, stabbed.
.April 29, 1983: Jesus Vasquez Tapia, shot.
.May 10, 1983: Carmen Roman, beaten.
.March 2, 1982: Miguel Zarate, beaten.
.July 1, 1982: Sue Anne Mecklin, unknown.
.July 17, 1982: Sergio Mendoza, shot.
.Oct. 24, 1982: Edward George, suffocated.
.Jan. 1, 1981: Robert Fierro, shot.
.Feb. 04, 1981: Clyde Jessie Jones, shot.
.May 21, 1980: Frank Gorman, beaten.
.May 25, 1980: Barbara Grijalva, beaten.
.Feb. 27, 1979: Nicolas Castanon, shot.
.May 18, 1979: Rodolfo Alejo, beaten.
.Jan. 9, 1979: Father James Payne, asphyxiation.
.Oct. 29, 1979: Tony Marshal Hudson, stabbed.
.Feb. 19, 1978: Sylvan Eugene Morgan, stabbed.
.March 20, 1978: Barbara Williams, stabbed.
.Aug. 15, 1978: Siman Ann Hughey, stabbed.
.Dec. 03, 1977: Maria Lara, run over.
.Nov. 26, 1977: Janet Bonilla, strangled.
.Oct. 25, 1977: James Preston Wolfe, beaten.
.Oct. 16, 1977: Ramiro Alvarez, stabbed.
.Oct. 14, 1977: Jesse Torres, shot.
.Sept. 13, 1977: Antonio Vela, stabbed.
.Sept. 8, 1977: Carlos Villanueva, shot.
.Aug. 31, 1977: Quinne Newman, shot.
.July 11, 1977: Joseph Pickard, shot.
.Nov. 26, 1976: Jose Tarango, stabbed.
.Aug. 14, 1976: Jose Urquidez, shot.
.July 29, 1976: Louis Lozano, stabbed.
.June 3, 1976: Emerson Bowden, unknown.
.April 12, 1976: Sima Ann Warren, beaten.
.April 4, 1976: Manuel Fortes, shot.
.Feb. 11, 1975: Antonio Sifuentes, shot.
.Jan. 15, 1975: Doris Hundley, stabbed.
.Jan. 11, 1975: Jimmy Gilbreath, shot.
.Dec. 31, 1974: Ismael Macias, stabbed.
.May 4, 1974: Ernesto Calvillo, shot.
.Dec. 25, 1973: Vicente Saenz, unknown.
.Sept. 12, 1973: Susan Wilson, stabbed.
.June 20, 1973: Lucia Leyva, stabbed.
.Oct. 14, 1972: Arnulfo Carbajal, shot.
.July 20, 1972: Guadalupe Dominguez, stabbed.
.Aug. 31, 1966: Ruby Louis Stephens, strangled.
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February 13, 2004, Friday COLLIN COUNTY EDITION

SECTION: METRO; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 818 words
HEADLINE: New squad dusting off unsolved cases;
Unit targeting suspects in old crimes, probation violators, trial
skippers
SOURCE: Staff Writer
BYLINE: TIM WYATT
BODY:
Over the last few months, Collin County prosecutors have reopened cases and unearthed defendants from decades past. Now the district attorney's office has formed a task force to dust off more unsolved murder files. District Attorney John Roach announced Thursday that he has started a permanent cold-case fugitive squad to reopen felony cases and round up fugitives or suspects who haven't had their day in court. "We don't want anyone in Collin County thinking they can get away with murder," Mr. Roach said. "The case is not over until these persons are prosecuted." In his first year in office, Mr. Roach had some of his staff examine a handful of old cases. The result was a string of indictments, including: *In November, Richard Dale Meade was arrested on a murder charge in connection with the June 1988 death of a man who was fatally stabbed with a sword. *In January, the uncle of a Celina girl who was killed in 1985 was indicted. *In February, a Collin County grand jury indicted a Texas inmate in the 1986 shooting death of a man in a Frisco parking lot. The office also worked closely with area police to pursue an indictment against prison inmate David Penton in the slayings of three North Texas girls from 1985 to 1987.
Mr. Roach said his staff is talking with law enforcement agencies to assess how many unsolved Collin County slayings may remain on the books. Sheriff Terry Box said he supports any efforts to clear cases or bring suspects to justice.
"It's always helpful when you've got more people working on cases," Sheriff Box said.
"Anything that can help solve a case or bring someone to justice is positive."
Sheriff Box said his investigators have been talking with prosecutors about coordinating efforts on cold cases. The squad of 10 - including prosecutors, investigators and secretaries - plans to hunt defendants in old pending cases, some dating back 20 years, who either fled before their arrest or skipped bond before coming to trial. "In Collin County, that number is manageable and small,"
Mr. Roach said. "And we're trying to make it smaller." About 1,300 felony cases have been targeted by prosecutors for the unit to review. In about 600 of those cases, people were indicted, but they never showed up in the courtroom.
Greg Davis, Collin County's first assistant district attorney, said the remaining cases involve people who received probated sentences, then violated the terms of their probation and fled. Those people will be tracked down and brought to court so a judge can decide if they will serve out their sentences behind bars, he said. "We want to give the active cases priority, because those people need to go to trial," Mr. Davis said. "But we're also going to take a good look at those who need to go before a judge on probation violations." Compared with Dallas County, Collin County's numbers are small. As of June, the Dallas County criminal district courts had more than 7,000 felony cases in which defendants failed to show up for trial. That's about half of all pending felony indictments in the county. The formation of Collin County's cold-case unit came as a result of the reorganization of the district attorney's office after Mr. Roach took office in January 2003. In the last year, his prosecutors in misdemeanor and felony courts have handled more cases and won more often than the year before.
The result, according to Mr. Davis, was fewer pending cases on court dockets and more time to devote to cold cases and fugitives. According to statistics from the district attorney's office, felony prosecutors disposed of more than 2,500 cases last year, almost 400 more than in 2002. Misdemeanor prosecutors churned out 3,200 more cases in 2003 than the previous year. The 9,300 cases disposed of last year marked a 54 percent increase over 2002. For both divisions, the number of jury trials and convictions also jumped from 2002, with felony trial convictions climbing to 83 percent and misdemeanor jury convictions rising to 59 percent. Early last year, policy changes and a staff reorganization resulted in fewer trial attorneys but a more efficient office, Mr. Roach said.
Experienced prosecutors were assigned to scrutinize felony cases sent to grand juries and to evaluate which misdemeanor cases would be prosecuted. A long-standing policy that disallowed plea bargains was abandoned. Prosecutors were also allowed to offer deferred adjudication, which gives defendants with no criminal convictions the chance to plead guilty to a charge and avoid prison time if they don't violate probation. Also, 11th-hour guilty pleas were denied once a jury trial had been set, so time picking juries and preparing for trial didn't go to waste.
"That reorganization has allowed us to let some people specialize in some areas, like cold cases," Mr. Roach said. "We won't have to spend an extra nickel for this."
E-mail: twyatt@dallasnews.com
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February 11, 2004 Wednesday

SECTION: JOURNAL NORTH; Pg. 1
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HEADLINE: Man Sentenced In 1980s Slayings
BYLINE: Jeremy Pawloski Journal Staff Writer
BODY:
Police Credit Technology for Closure of Cases Olive "Brownie" Mulvaney, 82, said she's "delighted" David Bruce Morton will never get out of prison after his admission in court Tuesday to raping and killing her only child in a Galisteo Street apartment 20 years ago.
But, "there is no such thing as closure in a case like this," Mulvaney said, Her lost daughter, Teri Lynn Mulvaney, was 26 and engaged to be married when she was killed.
Morton avoided the death penalty Tuesday by admitting to Mulvaney's 1984 strangulation death, and also to the 1983 rape and stabbing death of Janet Benoit, 22, whose bloodied body was found in a Cerrillos Road Comfort Inn.
A Santa Fe district judge sentenced Morton to two consecutive life sentences as part of a plea deal. Morton was already serving another life sentence in Texas for a 1990 rape-murder in Amarillo.
The Mulvaney and Benoit slayings weren't the only Santa Fe homicides from the 1980s generating developments this week.
On Monday, State Police in Albuquerque said that DNA evidence sent to the DPS crime lab last year links Chris McClendon, 39, to the 1989 slaying of Tracy Barker, 22, who was the mother of a 1-year-old son at the time of her death.
Barker was found strangled, raped and bludgeoned under a tree west of Richards Avenue near the Villa Linda Mall.
While Morton avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to his second and third homicides, McClendon might not be so lucky.
Santa Fe District Attorney Henry Valdez said Tuesday that his office is reviewing potential charges against McClendon, and the death penalty could be an option.
Prosecutors in New Mexico are allowed to seek the death penalty if a suspect is found guilty of killing a witness to a crime. That includes killing victims after they are raped.
"Cold case" unit Santa Fe Police Chief Beverly Lennen credited her department's "cold case unit," which is systematically reviewing unsolved homicides from the 1980s and earlier, with closing the Benoit and Mulvaney homicides.
"Today's events will not bring back or resurrect either victim, but today's two events do bring justice and closure for their survivors," Lennen said.
"Today our detectives and the DA's office made history for this city in resolving these two cold cases."
"It is no coincidence that these cases are being solved, because they're being solved with technique, technology and cooperation between departments,"Lennen added. "I anticipate there will be other cases we'll be able to celebrate and other survivors we will be able to help."
As for the Barker homicide, the break came in large part due to work by Santa Fe Detective Tony Trujillo in yet another case -- McClendon's conviction in the 1999 kidnapping and rape of a 24-year-old waitress who worked the Cowgirl Hall of Fame restaurant.
Last year, State Police sent a DNA sample recovered from Barker's 1989 sexual assault and had it analyzed at the DPS crime lab.
That DNA sample was then entered into a statewide DNA database, and it matched McClendon's DNA profile that already was in the system after his conviction in the Cowgirl case.
Hung jury in 1988. At the time of Tuesday's plea deal, Morton, 45, was already serving
a 100-plus year prison sentence in Lovelady, Texas, for the 1990 rape-murder of a married, 22-year-old Amarillo, Texas woman.
Morton had previously been tried in 1988 for Mulvaney's death in Santa Fe, but the case ended in a hung jury.
Had Morton been convicted, he would not have been on the loose to commit the Amarillo homicide.
At a news conference, Valdez said new technologies in collecting and analyzing DNA developed since the '80s would lessen the chances of a suspect like Morton going free today.
On Tuesday, as part of Morton's plea bargain, Santa Fe District Judge Stephen Pfeffer ordered him to begin serving his Texas sentence in New Mexico immediately, then serve out his consecutive life sentences for the Benoit and Mulvaney homicides.
Morton apologized to the Mulvaney and Benoit families in court Tuesday but showed no outward signs of emotion.
"I'm sorry they (the killings) happened," Morton said. "I wish I could take them back. I'm truly sorry for the families."
Morton's guilty pleas came about a year after a confession to Detective Trujillo and three other then-detectives with the Santa Fe Police Department -- Lt. Gary Johnson, Detective Dean Norris and Eric Johnson, who is now the deputy chief.
Trujillo said Morton confessed to the homicides after the detectives told him they had DNA evidence linking him to the homicides. Trujillo also said that they had a witness -- Morton's ex-wife -- who placed him near the Comfort Inn around the time of Benoit's slaying.
When Morton admitted to the killings, he did express remorse, Trujillo said. A neighbor, At the time of Mulvaney's slaying, Morton lived next door to her Galisteo Street apartment. Mulvaney was working at Public Service Company of New Mexico at the time of her death, her mother said in a phone interview from California.
Olive Mulvaney said her daughter's fiance lived in Farmington and would visit Teri in Santa Fe on weekends, but she was alone during the week.
Teri Mulvaney was afraid of Morton because she knew he was an ex-convict, and she noticed that he whistled in an obnoxious way at women in the neighborhood, Olive Mulvaney said.
"He knew she was alone," Olive Mulvaney said. "She was afraid of him."
Janet Benoit's older brother David, who lives about 50 miles south of Chicago in Illinois, said he too doesn't believe in "closure."
He said Janet was driving on her way from Colorado to Arizona at the time of her death, pulling a trailer with her belongings. She had a job lined up as the manager of a Foot Locker in Phoenix, and it was "an unfortunate coincidence" she stopped in Santa Fe, David Benoit said.
Of the years that have passed since his youngest sister's death, Benoit said, "the 20 years and three months in some respects seems the blink of an eye. In other respects, it's a lifetime."
LOAD-DATE: February 13, 2004