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Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre

2021/5/3
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拉斯克鲁塞斯警察局侦探马克·迈尔斯
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主持著名true crime播客《Crime Junkie》的播音员和创始人。
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播音员:本集播客详细讲述了1990年发生在拉斯克鲁塞斯保龄球馆的惨案,两名枪手枪杀了七人,其中包括儿童,至今未破案。事件发生在1990年2月10日上午,两名枪手闯入保龄球馆,枪杀了七名人质,其中五人死亡,两人重伤。案发后,警方进行了广泛调查,包括走访证人、分析物证、追查嫌疑人等,但由于火灾破坏了犯罪现场,且缺乏关键证据,案件始终未能侦破。尽管警方调查了各种可能性,包括抢劫、报复、内部人员作案等,但始终未能找到确凿证据。本案的未解之谜引发了公众的广泛关注,也给幸存者和遇难者家属带来了巨大的痛苦。 拉斯克鲁塞斯警察局侦探马克·迈尔斯:警方对所有可能的动机都进行了调查,但没有找到确凿证据。 梅丽莎:梅丽莎在911报警电话中描述了案发经过,提供了部分嫌犯信息,为警方调查提供了宝贵的线索。 伊达:伊达作为幸存者,提供了案发前曾看到过两名可疑男子在保龄球馆附近活动的线索,但由于其证词的可信度受到质疑,未能为案件侦破提供有效帮助。

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The episode sets the stage for the Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre, detailing the move of Stephanie Cenac and her daughter Melissa to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the establishment of Las Cruces Bowl as a community staple.

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To learn more about what Podcorn can do for you and your podcast, click the link in my show notes to sign up to Podcorn and start browsing today. Forensic Tales discusses topics that some listeners may find disturbing. The contents of this episode may not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised. Emergency. Whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down. We were all shot. And hold up. Okay. Emergency.

This is Forensic Tales, episode number 70, the Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre. ♪♪

Thank you.

Welcome to Forensic Tales. I'm your host, Courtney Fretwell. Forensic Tales is a weekly true crime podcast covering real, spine-tingling stories with a forensic science twist. Some cases have been solved with forensic science, while others have turned cold. Every remarkable story sends us a chilling reminder that not all stories have happy endings.

If you're interested in supporting the show, getting early access to weekly episodes, bonus material, ad-free episodes, merchandise, and much more, consider visiting our Patreon page at patreon.com slash Forensic Tales. Another great way you can help support Forensic Tales is by leaving us a positive rating with a review or telling friends and family who love true crime about us.

Now, let's jump right into this week's case. Las Cruces, New Mexico is a small town situated 45 miles north of the Mexico border. The city runs along the Rio Grande, framed by the Oregon Mountains, a fertile agricultural region that offered its residents a calm, quiet, and safe life.

Until the massacre that happened one February morning in 1990 that changed everything about what people thought of in Las Cruces. During the 1980s, Stephanie Cenac moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico to help run her father, Ronald Cenac's bowling alley.

Las Cruces Bowl became a town staple. It offered all sorts of entertainment to the residents of Las Cruces. Competitive adult bowling leagues, youth leagues, an on-site bar and restaurant, and even a daycare center. Las Cruces Bowl served up loads of weekend fun. When Stephanie Cenac arrived, she brought her 12-year-old daughter, Melissa Repas, with her.

For Stephanie and Melissa, the move to New Mexico represented a fresh start. In the early 1990s, Stephanie Cenac was dating Lee Hauser, the man of her dreams. Like Stephanie, Lee also had a young daughter, 13-year-old Amy Hauser, who went to the same middle school as Stephanie's daughter. When Amy and Melissa met and found out that their parents were dating, they became instant best friends.

Just like their parents, the girls had so much in common. In fact, after becoming friends, the two young girls worked together in the bowling alley's daycare center. At approximately 8 a.m. on Saturday, February 10, 1990, Stephanie arrived to open up the bowling alley. She brought her daughter, 12-year-old Melissa, and her friend, 13-year-old Amy.

It was Saturday, and the girls didn't have to go to school. They were super excited to supervise kids in the daycare center that day. After Stephanie unlocked the front door, she headed back to the back office to count the receipts from the night prior. While Stephanie was in the back office, Melissa and Amy ran off to the vending machines to grab some snacks. While Stephanie worked in the back office, 33-year-old Ida Hogan arrived at the bowling alley.

Ida was one of the bowling alley's restaurant chefs. She arrived early that day in order to get the kitchen ready for opening. The mother of four young children was an employee of Las Cruces Bowl for over six years. Ida wasn't originally scheduled to work that shift, but she switched with a co-worker to make a bingo game later that night. Stephanie's brother, Steve Sienak, also stopped by the bowling alley slightly after 8 a.m.,

Steve wasn't scheduled to work, but stopped by to pick up a few items. Upon entering the bowling alley, Steve Cenac noticed the front door unlocked. He thought to himself, gosh, Stephanie, how many times have I told you? Make sure the front door is always locked before the alley opens. Annoyed, Steve opened the front door.

As he stepped inside, he spotted two Hispanic men walking around the side of the bowling alley. He watched the men for a few seconds before going inside. He saw one of the men handing what looked like a large case to the other man. Hmm, that's weird, he thought. When Steve got inside, he picked up his forgotten items. But before he left, he walked to the back office to scold his sister.

Hey, Stephanie, how many times have I told you? When you get here in the morning, you need to lock the front door behind you. The doors should be closed until the lanes open at 9 a.m. Stephanie shrugged her brother off and resumed counting the receipts. She needed to stay on task to make sure that the lanes were ready for the 9 a.m. Youth League. Steve turned around and left.

A few minutes after Steve's departure, two armed men stormed into Las Cruces Bowl. They didn't wear masks. They didn't bring gloves. They didn't try to hide their identity. The men first encountered Melissa and Amy near the unlocked front door and the vending machines. The girls were confused. They asked the men if they needed some help.

Since they weren't wearing any masks, they didn't seem threatening. They thought maybe they were just there a little bit early to start bowling for the day. The two men shook their heads and pulled out two guns. They didn't need any help. The men followed Melissa and Amy to the back office where Stephanie was working.

When they arrived, one of the gunmen stayed with Stephanie, Melissa, and Amy. The second gunman went to the kitchen to get Ida, the chef. The man pulled out his .22 caliber gun, pointed it at Ida's face, told her to be quiet, and walked to the back office. A few moments later, Ida arrived at the back office. She saw Stephanie, Melissa, and Amy, and a second gunman.

The two gunmen ordered all four of them to lie down on the floor. The first gunman told Stephanie, Melissa, Amy, and Ida that they would let them go, unharmed, as long as they complied with their demands. As they lay on the floor, the second gunman began ransacking the office's cabinets, pulling out all the contents and dumping them everywhere. It was like they were looking for something.

Next, the men demanded Stephanie open the safe. She was the only one who had access. Once Stephanie opened the safe, the gunmen removed only a fraction of the money inside of the safe, $5,000. They were leaving behind thousands of dollars. Minutes before the gunmen were about to leave with the cash, something caught them off guard.

Their robbery is cut short by someone else entering the bowling alley through the same unlocked front door. 26-year-old Steve Turan, a mechanic for the bowling alley, entered. Steve was the guy in charge of making sure the lanes work every single day. On Saturday, February 10, 1990, Steve had only three days left working for the Las Cruces Bulls.

He had just put in his two weeks notice after graduating from college with a degree in criminal justice. He was quitting the bowling alley to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer. On this particular morning, Steve brought his two-year-old daughter, Valerie, and six-year-old stepdaughter, Paula.

It was common for Steve to bring his daughters to work with him because the bowling alley offered free daycare. The daycare Melissa and Amy responsibly supervised. Steve, Valerie, and Paula went back to the office where Steve planned to clock in for the day. As he walks in, he sees Stephanie, Melissa, Amy, and Ida lying face down on the floor. What he doesn't see are the two gunmen.

Before Steve and his daughters could figure out what was even happening, one of the gunmen wrestled him to the ground. Steve and his daughters are instructed to follow the other victims and lie face down on the floor. With two guns pointing at his face, Steve had no choice but to comply. The two gunmen now have a total of seven hostages in the back office.

The gunmen ordered their hostages to kneel on the floor facing away from them. They then shoot all seven victims, execution style, in the back of the head multiple times.

Stephanie Cenac, her daughter, 12-year-old Melissa, her friend, 13-year-old Amy Hauser, Ida Holgen, Steve Turan, and his two daughters, 2-year-old Valerie and 6-year-old Paula, are all gunned down in a hail of gunfire. After shooting their hostages, the two men grab some paper off the desk and set fire to the office.

They grabbed the $5,000 in cash from the safe and run out of the bowling alley, believing they were leaving behind seven dead victims. When we first meet someone, our smile is often the first thing people notice about us, whether that's on a first date or at a job interview. A smile can tell a lot about a person, but you can't just trust your smile with any teeth whitening company.

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That's Smile Brilliant. Teeth whitening for everyone. Shop today. SmileBrilliant.com. And don't forget to use the promo code TAILS for 30% off. At 8.29 a.m., Las Cruces Police received an emergency 911 call from Las Cruces Bull. It's 12-year-old Melissa. She tells the dispatcher she's calling from Las Cruces Bull.

She's been shot multiple times with six other people. Here's a little bit of Melissa's 911 call to the police. Warning, this audio is incredibly disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Emergency. Whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down. We were all shot and holed up. Okay, where are you at? We're in a quarantine stand by the door.

Las Cruces Bowl. Las Cruces Bowl? Yes. Okay, and there were shots fired? Yes. All of us were hurt. Huh? I think on the other one conscious. All of you were hurt? Okay, we'll get an ambulance rolling.

Okay, what's your name? Melissa Repass. Please hurry. Okay, Melissa, we've got them dispatched. Did you see who did it? No, sir. They told us all to get down. They shot me five times. Okay, we'll get them rolling, Melissa. Just hang on, take a deep breath. We've got patrol units in the round. How many people are hurt? One, two, three, four...

Seven people are hurt? Yes, I think. Seven subjects hurt. Okay, okay, Melissa. It hurts. It hurts, okay. Melissa, I've got an ambulance and I've got the police officers in route. They'll be with you just shortly. Okay. Okay? You didn't see what any of the men were wearing? No, they took all of our money. You didn't see what any kind of the men were wearing or anything? No. Nothing, huh? They just walked in? No.

Do you know if they were black men, white men? Two black men? Yeah. Okay. No, they've left. Two black males. Okay, okay. It's okay, Melissa. There's a fire, too. There's a fire? Right on the desk. They're going to burn us up. Are the men still there? I don't know. You don't know? I don't know.

That's just a portion of the entire four-minute call to the police.

Not only is it miraculous Melissa survived the attack, but she also had the wherewithal to look for the phone, pick it up, and call 911 as quickly as she could. Every single time I listen to this call, it gives me the chills. First responders arrived at Las Cruces Bowl within minutes. Melissa tells the dispatcher where they are and where the back office is located.

Because of the fire, first responders radioed for backup and began pulling the seven victims out of the office where they could perform first aid. Many of the victims were bleeding uncontrollably and unconscious. While paramedics tended to the victims, firefighters began putting out the blaze. Twelve-year-old Melissa and her mom Stephanie and Ida were stabilized and rushed to Memorial General Hospital in Las Cruces.

Melissa was shot five times and spent 11 days in the hospital recovering from her injuries. Ida was shot three times and spent over six months in the hospital recovering. Her injuries were so devastating that in her recovery, she had to learn how to do everything all over again, from eating to walking. Stephanie suffered severe brain injuries, heart,

Those that knew her said she was never the same after the shooting. Although she initially recovered from the shooting, she died nine years later due to complications from the shooting. Two-year-old Valerie was also rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead from her injuries later that day. Steve Turan, his six-year-old stepdaughter Paula, and 13-year-old Amy Hauser were pronounced dead at the scene.

When all was said and done, the two gunmen killed five people and seriously injured two, making it the deadliest mass shooting in Las Cruces, New Mexico history. Investigators knew that the fire was a complete disaster for the crime scene. They had absolutely no idea how much evidence was lost either during the fire or simply the act of putting it out.

When you look at crime scene photos of the office, it's a disaster. You've got fire retardant sprayed everywhere. You've got damage from the actual fire itself to the desk and parts of the floor. Then you also have first responders cross-contamination.

When they arrived that day, the priority was to put out the fire and get the victims out safely. The focus wasn't necessarily on preserving a crime scene. Investigators couldn't secure the crime scene until hours later. This also meant first responders might have contaminated the office during this whole ordeal.

After firefighters put out the fire and forensic experts were allowed to start looking for evidence, they did their best. They collected a few fingerprints, but there was a huge problem. This was a bowling alley. People touched everything. So investigators had no idea which fingerprints belonged to visitors or murderers. This also took place in the early 1990s. DNA was still very new.

So forensic experts weren't swabbing for DNA or doing anything like that. When investigators searched the crime scene, all they had was a couple of fingerprints. From the start, this was going to be a tough case to solve. This brutal case, seven victims, five eventually dead, required almost every Las Cruces police officer to be assigned to the case.

They would be working day and night to find these two gunmen, even working the case on their days off. The police began their investigation by canvassing the neighborhood surrounding Las Cruces Bowl. They wanted to find out if anyone heard or saw anything on the morning of the shooting. The police spoke with a person who worked down the street from the bowling alley.

The first witness claimed to have heard the shots being fired, but police also learned of a second witness. This witness, who also worked nearby, told police that she saw two men running away from the bowling alley right around the time Melissa called 911.

This information from the second witness seemed to match what Steve Cenac saw that morning. Remember, Steve Cenac, who's Stephanie's brother, went to the bowling alley just minutes before these two gunmen arrived. Steve was there to pick up some items he left behind. And on his way inside of the bowling alley, he recalled seeing two Hispanic men walking around the side of the building.

Melissa told 911 that the two men were black. Based on eyewitnesses as well as Steve Cenac's account of seeing two Hispanic men running away from the bowling alley, the police believed they were looking for two Hispanics. Based on the testimony of the nearby employee as well as Steve Cenac's description of the men, the police came up with their initial suspect profiles.

The first suspect was described as being a young Hispanic male between 28 and 34 years old, around 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighing between 160 and 170 pounds. He's believed to have wavy brown hair, brown eyes with a mustache. The second suspect was described as being a little older than the first man, somewhere between 48 and 54 years old.

He stood around 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed around 140 pounds. He had thinning salt-and-pepper hair, brown eyes, and although he spoke English, he spoke with a heavy Spanish accent. Based on these physical descriptions, a forensic sketch artist compiled sketches of the men.

The sketches were immediately published in the media, urging anyone to come forward if they believed they knew who either of the gunmen were. With the sketches, the police also issued information that the two men fled the scene in a green four-door vehicle, likely a van. One of the first moves the police did in the hours following the shooting and release of the sketches was set up roadblocks in the area.

Roadblocks are interesting because depending on when the police placed the roadblocks and when the crime occurred, you might catch someone or you're way too late. In this case, it seems highly unlikely that these two gunmen stayed around in the area. My guess is that they hightailed it out of town. And by the time Las Cruces police set up their roadblocks, these men were long gone.

Let's also keep in mind that this happened in a town less than 50 miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border. In my opinion, a roadblock isn't going to be a great investigative strategy to try and catch these guys. Nonetheless, the police did encounter a person of interest at one of these roadblocks.

That same afternoon, an officer pulled over a car containing four Hispanic men who had a couple thousand dollars of cash on them. The police felt pretty good about this. But when Steve Cenac was brought in to try and identify the men, he wasn't able to. So without any other probable cause linking these four men to the Las Cruces bowling alley massacre, the men were released.

Several days passed after the shooting. No credible suspects emerged. During this time, Ida, one of the surviving victims, regained consciousness at the hospital. She provided police with a similar physical description of the gunman that Steve Cenac had provided. She also told investigators that she believed that she had seen two of these men at the bowling alley in the days and weeks before the shooting.

When she saw the sketches that police had drawn up of the men, she even thought that she'd seen the men casing the bowling alley. Like they had been there before to get a feel of the joint, the layout, the staff schedule, everything. During her interview in the hospital, Ida made one thing clear. She didn't think this was a simple robbery.

She told police that the two gunmen were looking for something in the back office that day. And it wasn't the $5,000 in cash. Within days of the massacre, theories sprouted about the motive from an inside job to a robbery or possibly a hit or a drug deal gone wrong. All of these theories left investigators puzzled.

They knew two gunmen entered the bowling alley within about 40 minutes of opening, shot seven hostages, and took $5,000. But the criminals left behind thousands of dollars still inside of the safe. This troubled investigators. They couldn't determine if this was a planned robbery or some other crime that went wrong. Or maybe it wasn't a robbery at all.

Since the gunman left behind thousands of dollars, perhaps violence and murder was their only motive. But what was the reason behind the desk fire? Were they trying to burn up possible evidence or burn up something else? Investigators couldn't shake the possibility that this was a robbery gone wrong. It's possible the gunman didn't expect other people to be inside the bowling alley.

Maybe they intended on robbing the place, but became overwhelmed at the number of potential eyewitnesses. And, in a last-minute decision, they decided to shoot all seven witnesses. But rather quickly into the investigation, there was one theory that investigators just couldn't ignore. The shooting was a possible hit or an inside job.

Some time before the shooting, rumors circulated throughout Las Cruces that the bowling alley's owner, Ronald Cenac, was involved in some shady business dealings. The stories even went as far as to suggest that Ronald Cenac was involved in the cartel, an organized crime group that was highly active in this part of New Mexico. This theory arose when investigators looked at how the seven victims were shot.

The two gunmen ordered all of them to kneel, and then they were all shot execution style in the back of their heads. This style of killing is highly consistent with what we know about the cartel. If the bowling alley's owner, Ronald Cenac, who happened to be the father and grandfather of two of the victims, was somehow linked to the cartels, then maybe this is a possible theory, right? A plausible theory.

Indeed, much of what we know about the crime scene and the shootings are consistent with the cartel's M.O. Maybe the gunmen were somehow getting back at Ronald Cenac. Or they believed Ronald would be opening that morning. Though this theory seemed plausible, it quickly fizzled out. When investigators inspected Ronald Cenac's shady business deals, nothing about his business was linked to the shooting.

Detective Mark Myers of the Las Cruces Police Department said, quote, We investigated all of those angles at the time. Thousands and thousands of man hours went into trying to prove those theories, but we couldn't prove anything. We put Ronald Cenac under a microscope and we couldn't find anything. To date, all we know for sure is that it was a robbery homicide, end quote.

Investigators were back at square one. By this point, the case felt like it was on the brink of turning cold. After months of investigating the Las Cruces Bullying Alley Massacre, the police turned their attention from the Bullying Alley's owner, Ronald Cenac, to his son, R.J. Cenac.

The focus shifted to R.J. after Las Cruces police received tips from the public about his possible involvement in the shootings. R.J., who also worked at the bowling alley as a bartender, was rumored to be involved in some drug deals. Again, when detectives looked into these claims, well, they seemed plausible.

It turned out RJ did have a history of drug use. He had a long history of cocaine use. So, the police thought maybe the robbery and shooting had something to do with a drug deal. It's possible RJ maybe owed some drug money to someone, and whoever he owed money to sought revenge by targeting his father's bowling alley.

Well, even though RJ did have a cocaine addiction, the police found nothing linking him to the massacre. And unfortunately, RJ Cenac passed away from a drug overdose in 1997 at the age of only 36. After RJ Cenac, the police received another tip from a woman named Irma.

A local Las Cruces resident told investigators that she saw the two alleged gunmen shortly after the shooting. According to Irma, the two men stayed with her around when the shooting took place, and both of the men matched the forensic sketches. At first, the police doubted this woman's story.

They couldn't understand what took her so long to come forward, and they didn't understand her connection to these two men. Instead of simply believing the woman at face value, they said they wanted her to take a polygraph. If she's telling the truth about this story, then she'll be able to pass a polygraph. Now, if you've listened to any of my episodes, you know that I'm not the biggest fan of polygraphs.

We don't allow polygraph tests to be admissible in court as evidence, and I think this speaks to the validity issues with these types of tests. But back in the early 1990s when this was all going down, polygraphs were a highly advanced investigative tool used by most police departments, which of course is before research has suggested otherwise.

So, in Irma's case, she agreed with the Las Cruces police to take a polygraph test. Unfortunately, after submitting to the polygraph test, she decided to recant her story within minutes, making her test results pretty much pointless from an investigative standpoint.

It turns out this woman had a history of drug use, and like RJ Cenac, she also passed away from a drug overdose in 2001. So whether or not she was telling the truth about encountering the two gunmen, we may never know. Several months into the investigation, the Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre officially turned cold.

With no solid leads or suspects in the shooting, the police were at a dead end. It seemed like whoever did this was going to get away with it. In the years and decades following the shooting, the case remains unsolved. In nearly three decades, the police have made zero arrests. Over the many years, more theories have emerged about the motive behind the shooting.

It's possible this was a robbery gone bad. If that's the case, then from a criminological perspective, this was just a random crime. These two men happened to stumble upon the bowling alley and decided to rob it. It's possible they may have cased the place before, like Ida Holgen had suggested. Then, once they got inside the bowling alley, the men became overwhelmed by the number of people inside.

Remember, there were a total of seven people inside. That's a lot of potential eyewitnesses for these two gunmen. But there's also another popular theory in the case. It was either an inside job or a planned hit. This theory is where I want to focus on for a minute, especially from a forensic psychology standpoint.

To me, there are several fascinating aspects to this robbery. First is the timing. The two gunmen entered the bowling alley sometime after Steve Cenac came and left before 8.20 a.m. Let's say they arrived at 8.20. That's only about 30 minutes before the bowling alley was set to open for the day.

That's risky for these offenders because you run the risk of a lot of employees being inside, as well as the possibility of customers arriving early for the day. On the day the robbery took place, it was a Saturday. It was also the day for the youth league to come in and practice.

That means dozens of kids, plus one or two parents who are going to be with them, plus the potential of their siblings coming, and whoever else was with them, all of those people would be arriving at Las Cruces Bowl within 30 minutes. So taking a deeper look at the timing here,

This happened on a Saturday morning, which meant there would have been a lot of cash inside of the safe. And that's because on Friday nights, the bowling alley had their adult league, which meant the place generated a lot of cash. Much more than $5,000 would have been inside the safe that morning, which is interesting, right?

It's entirely possible that the two gunmen knew that there would be a lot of cash in the safe on a Saturday morning following the adult league. Now, if they knew there would be plenty of money, this might mean they had some inside knowledge about the bowling alley's business, which to me suggests a possible inside job.

Now, the other aspect I analyzed for the inside job theory is the desk the gunman set on fire. It was obvious to investigators that the fire originated on top of the desk. The source is interesting for a few reasons. Number one, was the fire set to burn something like paperwork on the desk itself?

2. Did the gunman bring something in with them and burned it in there? 3. Does the fire explain why the surviving victims recalled the men ransacking cabinets in the office and appearing like they were looking for something in particular?

From a forensic psychology perspective, this might suggest that the men were either looking for something inside the office or they were trying to destroy something by starting the fire. Either way, this gives credibility to the hypothesis that this might be an inside job or a hit. Was there something inside that office the gunman needed to destroy?

As I mentioned earlier, the fire itself was a huge problem to this entire investigation. Whatever evidence that the gunman left behind was lost. It was either destroyed in the fire or first responders contaminated the evidence during the rescue. I mentioned earlier in the story that investigators recovered several fingerprints from inside the office.

But to this day, the police have not announced whether these fingerprints have been identified or if they even have a connection to the shooting. All these years later, it seemed likely the fingerprints don't have any significant relevance to the case. The last thing I examined from this case is the number of victims and the sheer brutality of the shooting. Seven people were shot multiple times in the head, execution style.

Three of the victims were children as young as two years old. This is something that tells me the gunman may have wanted to send a message. Maybe this was a former employee of the bowling alley or someone who wanted payback on the business. The Las Cruces bowling alley massacre left four people dead and three surviving victims.

Those who died back on Saturday, February 10th, 1990, were 26-year-old Stephen Turan, 6-year-old Paula Hogan, 13-year-old Amy Hauser, and 2-year-old Valerie Turan. Nine years after the shooting, 24-year-old Stephanie Sinek died of complications due to her injuries from the tragedy.

Those that knew Stephanie said that she was never the same after the shooting. For years, she had post-traumatic stress disorder. The two survivors were then 12-year-old Melissa Repass and 33-year-old Ina Hogan. Although Melissa and Ina survived the shooting, they had to live the rest of their lives with this tragedy hanging over their heads.

they remain hopeful that there will be justice in the case. The case has been featured on many different true crime and investigative shows, including Unsolved Mysteries and America's Most Wanted. Although the case had been talked about for over three decades, it seems to have faded behind other unsolved cases that happen every single day in this country.

As each year passes, it seems less and less likely the two gunmen will ever be identified. The building that was once the fun, lively Las Cruces Bowl still stands today. Since the shooting, the bowling alley has undergone several different owners. It's been called Sun Lanes and Ten Pin Alley. In July 2018, it went out of business.

Las Cruces Bowl was once a place that brought smiles and fun to children and adults alike. It's now remembered as a place where the unimaginable nightmare occurred. The Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre remains unsolved. A $25,000 reward is still being offered for any tips and information leading to a possible arrest.

If you think you know anything about these two gunmen, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or at 575-526-8000. You can also text your tips to Crimes 274637. All your tips will remain anonymous.

You can also direct your tips to the Las Cruces Police Department directly at 575-528-4222. To my listeners who live near Las Cruces, New Mexico, or have family who have lived in the area, if you live there currently or anytime in the last 30 years,

please, please look at the sketches of these two men. Both sketches will be up on our website, ForensicTales.com. See if you recognize these two men. Show them to friends and family. Show them to as many people as possible in the New Mexico area who may have been there at that time. Someone out there knows who these two men are.

These two men need to be held accountable for a horrific crime that altered so many lives. Justice needs to be served. We simply need a crucial tip, and we'll find them. You can help. To share your thoughts on the Las Cruces Bulling Alley Massacre, be sure to follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at Forensic Tales. Let me know your theories on the case.

Also, to check out photos from the case, as well as take a look at the gunman sketches, be sure to head to our website, ForensicTales.com. Don't forget to subscribe to Forensic Tales so you don't miss an episode. We release a new episode every Monday. If you love the show, consider leaving us a positive review or tell friends and family about us. You can also help support the show through Patreon.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. Please join me next week. We'll have a brand new case and a brand new story to talk about. Until then, remember, not all stories have happy endings.

Thank you.

You can also help support the show by leaving us a positive review and telling friends and family about us. Forensic Tales is a podcast made possible by our Patreon producers, Tony A, Nicole L, William R, David B, Sammy, Paula G, and Selena C.

If you'd like to become a producer of the show, head to our Patreon page or email me at Courtney at ForensicTales.com to find out how you can become involved. For a complete list of sources used in this episode, please visit ForensicTales.com. Please join me next week. We release a new episode every Monday.

Until then, remember, not all stories have happy endings.