The couple had other relatives in Texas, and their car carried Texas license plates and election stickers promoting a relative running for sheriff in Zavala County. Del Rio, TX - On Friday evening, Del Rio Police Department officers responded to an emergency call at the Val Verde Regional Medical Center in reference to a woman that had been shot in the face. [3], This youth is the only still-unidentified victim of serial killer Dean Corll, who, together with two teenage accomplices, killed at least 28 boys and young men between 1970 and 1973. Inside Keiths trailer, police found a small amount of marijuana but never found conclusive evidence that they were a drug dealer. The Dardeen family did not feel safe staying in the area as it had been becoming increasingly violent. Investigators weren't even certain how many suspects to hunt. [33], Reconstruction of "Rebel Ray" by Natalie Murry, A Hispanic male between 15 and 25 was found stabbed to death on December 15, 1988, in Collin County, Texas. The Del Rio Police Department is asking the public for assistance in the arrest of Victor Garcia. He may have gone by the street name, "New York Billy". Theres always something to follow.. DRPD recovered several He had short, black hair, a mustache, and brown eyes. A preacher once came in the store "to get rid of the Loma Alta devil or ghost," she recalled. [30][31][32], The DNA Doe Project was asked to assist with identifying the body in May, 2019. In all, five people died in what remains Texas' oldest unsolved mass slaying. WebTexas Rangers Unsolved Homicide Website Texas Rangers Top 12 Cold Case Investigations Generally, cases are solved when the offender has been arrested and turned over to the He's now about 42 years old, married, a father, and working in the financial industry. He was exhumed in 2015 in order to analyze his DNA and make a forensic reconstruction. It is unknown how both victims were placed at the scene. Volkmann said road crews discovered the massacre that had happened overnight. After his arrest, Tommy claimed that he had carried out the Dardeen Killing along with other 70 unsolved murders. His hair was dark brown with some gray visible. A mile-long stretch of U.S. Highway 277 became a killing field, with family members shot, stabbed, raped and robbed. Victor Garcia has not been located and his arrest is imminent. The most promising lead came in 2000, when serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells was arrested for cutting the throats of Kaylene Harris, 13, and Krystal Surles, 10 near Del Leticia died two days later. I was always a transient.. In their free time, the couple played in a musical ensemble at a local Baptist church. Five members of the Arrellano family, including two children, were murdered in 1968. WebSome of the unsolved murders in Houston, Texas, include the 1980 double murder of Andrew and Estella Salinas, the 1974 murder of Edward Edd Williams, the 2000 murder Olguin was arrested on an unrelated charge, but officials are questioning him about the murder of 27-year-old Sandra De la Cruz. Manuel Jr. survived, but underwent multiple brain surgeries. And today we're on third base.". She had died of blunt force trauma to the head, and had been dead for anywhere between a few months to five years. Investigators believe that the skull belonged to the unidentified woman, however when DNA testing was done on the skull in 2015, it was determined that it belonged to a different person. A man was arrested for the Doe's murder in September, 2007. There were over fourteen hundred murders in Texas in 2017. On May 3, 1946, the Phantom Killer struck for the last time, killing 37-year-old Virgil Starks and his 36-year-old wife, Katie Starks, in their Arkansas farmhouse. When asked how Elaines body was positioned, he answered that incorrectly, before finally guessing the position correctly. Sexual assault was secondary, thirdly would have been theft," said Long, referring to the rape of at least one of the women. Arellano fixed the flat, but had another one a few miles farther north. "Experience is, definitely you don't do this and stop," he said. He was buried in an unmarked grave in McLennan County Restland Cemetery, however the location of his body is unknown. 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She was found wearing pink bikini panties, a ring with a replica 20-dollar American gold piece, and a white towel. The woman, along with her boyfriend, has never been identified. We will never know whether Tommy Sells was involved in the murder of the Dardeen family or he was trying to avoid the death penalty by confessing to crimes he had not committed and taking advantage of the judicial systems gratitude. He didnt have a spare, so somebody picked him up and took him to Sonora, said Volkmann. As of January 22, 2021 it was announced that Live Oak Doe has been identified. Rangers tracked down the ranchhand, an illegal immigrant, who found the bodies, but he had nothing new to add. [4][5][6] This decedent was between 5 feet 2 and 5 feet 7 inches tall, had dark brown hair, approximately seven inches in length,[7] and is believed to have worn multicolored, striped swim trunks, boots, and a shirt displaying a peace symbol. Crime Person of interest in murder of Del Rio mother now in custody, authorities say The Val Verde County Sheriff's office says 23-year-old Ernesto Alejandro [12], A teenage female whose body was discovered approximately six hours after she died on October 31 or November 1, 1980. However, there is no strong theory, that gives the motive behind the brutal killing of the Dardeen family. The area in which her body was found was a spot typically used for tractor-trailers to park. He was estimated to be in his 30s, was 5 feet 6 inches tall, and weighed 150 pounds. The Val Verde County Sheriff's office says 23-year-old Ernesto Alejandro Olguin is in custody. [40] A piece of paper was found at the scene that was written by hand containing some sort of schedule. NEWS County Constable Pct. Brooks Long, who is responsible for a four-county area of vast West Texas. Three members of the family were slain to death, but Keith was missing along with their car, there was no hint as to where he could have been. Sells said in his 2010 interview: I know people got their doubts, They say theres no physical evidence tying me to Dardeens, but there wasnt for any of them because they wasnt looking for me. After her body remained unidentified, she was buried in an unmarked grave in a potter's field. Prior to this position, she covered upstream oil and gas news for a drilling contractors' association. She had black hair styled in cornrows and pigtails, and brown eyes, as well as scars on her left wrist. He had received multiple stab wounds, both his hands had been removed and he had received extensive trauma to the face. Investigators believe she had been murdered. The most promising lead came in 2000, when serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells was arrested for cutting the throats of Kaylene Harris, 13, and Krystal Surles, 10 near Del Rio, Texas. Five people died in what remains Texas oldest unsolved mass slaying. A man was convicted in California of a strikingly similar crime. Witnesses reported that a known man, whose name was provided to the investigating officers was the one that opened fired at the location. Mother of five, 27, shot and killed at a Del Rio convenience store. But thanks to an anonymous tip that reinvigorated the stalled investigation, a Texas Ranger assigned the case now believes authorities are close to cracking it. [8], He had received good dental care, and had never received any teeth fillings in his lifetime. The victim's body was likely exposed due to changes with water levels on the beach. That's how it stayed until 1999, when a caller told the Texas Department of Public Safety he knew the identity of the killer. On November 4, 1986, the skeletal remains of a teenage white/Hispanic female were discovered by a telephone company repairman, in a grassy area alongside US Route 77, seven miles south of Rockdale, Texas. [19], On August 12, 1985, the body of a Hispanic female aged between 16 and 35 was found inside a vacant store. On December 10, 1980, a young African American female was found lying under a mattress, under Interstate 45, about six miles north of downtown Houston, Texas. [42], On September 17, 1990, the body of a middle aged white/Hispanic man was found about five miles north of Roscoe, Texas, and about a mile north of Interstate 20 in rural Nolan County, Texas. [2], A white or Hispanic male between 15 and 18 years old was found buried in a Harris County boat shed in August 1973. Sells claimed in 2010 that he met Keith at a truck stop, and while telling the story again he said he met him at a local pool hall, in both versions he said that Keith invited him for dinner and a three-way with him and Elaine. He had three tattoos: one of a small devil with a painted tail on his lower left arm, one on his upper left arm with the word "Liz", and one of a flower design and "Baby Dawn" on his right arm. He was between 35 and 50 years old, was approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed between 195 and 200 pounds. The investigation has taken Long all over the country and to Mexico, where he found Manuel Jr. Keiths supervisor called his parents but neither of them knew what happened to their son. She had claimed to a waitress that she was 19 but the waitress did not believe her. The .22-caliber murder weapon never was found. The show, however, was unable to generate any new leads. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. 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