Borderland Crimes

“We Want to Find Her Body:” The Disappearance and Death of Erika Gaytan

The date between Erika Gaytan and Ricardo Marquez to a concert ended with Gaytan not returning home. Her family immediately believed something terrible happened to the 29-year-old woman; her mother said there was no way she would abandon her 7-year-old son. Continuous searches throughout El Paso – including in the sprawling desert east of the city – did not yield her remains. Despite her body not being found and a cause of death unknown, police arrested and charged Marquez with her murder. Could the 28-year-old’s behavior leading up to and after Gaytan’s disappearance be enough to convince a jury he is a killer?

“We Feel Victimized All Over Again:” Veteran’s Murder Unresolved After Five Years

An Army vet who survived combat in Afghanistan was murdered in El Paso.  Tyler Croke was in the shower at a friend’s apartment when he was ambushed, held at gunpoint, then brutally killed.

A total of five people – some of them soldiers – were arrested and charged with Tyler’s murder. El Paso police investigators said they had wanted to rob Tyler of the drugs he had been selling.

And five years later, only two suspects have been sentenced.

The family of the murdered veteran fears justice may be out of reach as concerns emerge from on all sides of the case.

32 Years Later and Still No Resolution in Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre

In this special episode of Borderland Crimes, ABC-7 talks with one of the survivors of the massacre at Las Cruces Bowl on the 32nd anniversary of the crime.

Ida Holguin recounts the morning two men held her and six others at gunpoint, shooting them and leaving them for dead. Three of the five who died were children.

If you have information in the case, you can call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

For a full retelling of this case, listen to episode #6 of Borderland Crimes called "Massacre at Las Cruces Bowl: America's Largest Unsolved Mass Shooting."

A Murder Case, a Mistrial and Misconduct Allegations: The Death of RJ Franco

RJ Franco was shot to death outside of a bar in east El Paso on Jan. 29, 2017. The moments leading up to the shooting, as well as the shooting itself, were caught on surveillance camera and the suspect was arrested at the scene. The suspect, Moises Galvan, told police he shot Franco in self-defense. Nearly 5 years after the shooting, Galvan remains in jail as both he and Franco’s parents await justice. There was a mistrial in 2019, and no retrial date is on the calendar. Now, the state of Texas is officially investigating the judge’s handling of the case.

Lured from the Toy Aisle: The Kidnapping and Murder of Alexandra Flores

A little girl got separated from her family during a holiday shopping trip to a busy retail store and seemed to vanish into thin air. Dread settled in for her family and the entire community once surveillance camera video emerged, showing the 5-year-old girl walking out of the store with an unknown man. The girl was found dead the following morning. It’s a case that traumatized a community and reminded parents that danger really can hide in plain sight.

Blood and Heartbreak: A Murder by the Rio Grande Goes Unsolved for 27 Years

The murder of Robert Rocha, 43, has remained unsolved for nearly three decades. The retired U.S. Navy veteran and father of three daughters was found shot to death at Mesilla Dam outside Las Cruces, NM, on June 28, 1994. The Dona Ana County Sheriff's detectives still haven't arrested and charged anyone with the crime. But Rocha's daughter thinks someone who was once close to her father -- and is well known by the entire family -- has information that could break open the case. If you have information on this case, call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).

“We Don’t Know Who Can Have That Kind of Hate:” Family Torn Apart After Son Murders Mother

When Gloria Marmolejo, a 54-year-old mom and grandmother, was found dead in the southern New Mexico desert in the summer of 2009, her family pleaded for the community’s help to find whoever murdered her. But investigators with the El Paso Police Department believed her son, David, was the killer -- and they learned he was hiding other secrets big enough to destroy his family.

If you are in a violent relationship or someone you know is in a dangerous situation, call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233) or visit www.thehotline.org. You can also call El Paso's Center Against Sexual and Family Violence at (915) 593-7300 or visit casfv.org.

A Mass Murder and a Cover-up: The Massacre at Porvenir, TX

An El Paso woman learned a horrible secret about her family: her great-grandfather had been massacred, along with 14 other men and boys, on Jan. 28, 1918. When Arlinda Valencia learned who was to blame for the terrible act, she realized more needed to be done to expose the dark past of a legendary law enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers.

Learn more about the massacre: https://www.porvenirmassacre.org/

 

Deaths in the Desert: A Serial Killer's Personal Graveyard

In the summer of 1987, a serial killer stalked the streets of El Paso, Texas. The bodies of six teenage girls and young women were found buried in the desert in the northeast outskirts of town.
All had been reported missing earlier that year.

An extensive investigation led police to David Leonard Wood, a former convict recently behind bars for rape. Wood was sentenced to death. But 33 years have passed and he remains on death row, proclaiming his innocence as his attorneys - and families of the victims - fight for their versions of justice.

Borderland Crimes is sponsored by University Medical Center of El Paso.

”It was a set-up for my son to die:” The unsolved murder of Terrance Kinard, Jr.

On Jan. 26, 2019, Terrance Kinard Jr. was shot outside a house party in Northeast El Paso.
The case has gone unsolved despite there likely being many witnesses to the murder of the 20-year-old father and aspiring rapper.
His parents are opening up about their pain, their plea for justice and the troubling conflicts their son was experiencing in the months before his death.

If you have information about this case, call El Paso Crime Stoppers at (915) 566-8477.