New Mexico has been the site of several major serial murder cases, some solved and some still open. The most prominent New Mexico serial killer cases include the unsolved West Mesa murders in Albuquerque, the torture crimes of David Parker Ray near Elephant Butte, the Farmington-area killings by Robert Fry, the 2021 Sunport dismemberment case involving Sean Lannon, and the pending federal prosecution of Labar Tsethlikai for a string of attacks on Native American men.
The West Mesa Murders Remain Unsolved
On February 2, 2009, a woman walking her dog on a mesa next to 118th Street SW on Albuquerque’s west side found a human femur. The discovery led to one of the largest homicide investigations in state history. Forensic teams eventually unearthed the remains of 11 women and one unborn child from makeshift graves in the desert.1City of Albuquerque. West Mesa Homicide Investigation
All 11 women have been identified: Monica Candelaria, Victoria Chavez, Virginia Cloven, Syllannia Edwards, Cinnamon Elks, Doreen Marquez, Julie Nieto, Veronica Romero, Evelyn Salazar, Michelle Valdez, and Jamie Barela. The unborn child was found with Michelle Valdez. Ten of the women had common links to drugs and prostitution. Barela, who was 15, did not; she disappeared in April 2004 alongside her cousin Evelyn Salazar after leaving a family gathering to visit a park near San Mateo and Gibson. She was identified in January 2010 through DNA analysis at the University of North Texas.1City of Albuquerque. West Mesa Homicide Investigation
No one has been arrested or charged. APD Commander Kyle Hartsock has identified Lorenzo Montoya, who lived near the burial site, as the prime suspect. Montoya was killed in 2006 by the boyfriend of a woman he was strangling, and the West Mesa disappearances appear to have stopped around the time of his death.2KOAT. Police Support New DNA Bill as West Mesa Murder Cases Remain Cold Investigators have not been able to confirm his involvement, in part because his DNA has never been entered into CODIS. He was never charged with a crime before his death, and current state law prevents processing the DNA of deceased people who were never charged.3KRQE. APD Brings Forward Bills to Help Investigate West Mesa Murders and Other Cold Cases
The investigation is still active. As of the case’s 17th anniversary in February 2026, APD confirmed that detectives served a new search warrant in late January 2026 and are conducting additional ground and aerial searches with local partners. The department has received 1,569 tips since 2009 and is reviewing regional cold cases for possible connections.4KRQE. West Mesa Murders Investigation Remains Active on 17th Anniversary, APD Says A $100,000 reward is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction.1City of Albuquerque. West Mesa Homicide Investigation APD has backed legislation sponsored by Representative Yanira Gurrola that would let police enter DNA from deceased felony suspects into a national database; as of early 2025, the bill had reached a House committee but had not been enacted.3KRQE. APD Brings Forward Bills to Help Investigate West Mesa Murders and Other Cold Cases
David Parker Ray, the Toy Box Killer
David Parker Ray ran a soundproofed trailer near Elephant Butte Lake in southern New Mexico, where he kidnapped women and subjected them to prolonged sexual torture. The trailer contained a gynecological chair, restraints, surgical tools, and a ceiling mirror. Ray drugged victims with barbiturates to cause disorientation and amnesia and played them pre-recorded tapes describing what they would endure.5People. Toy Box Killer Tortured Women in Soundproof Trailer
The case broke on March 22, 1999, when 22-year-old Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo was found running down an unpaved road near Elephant Butte State Park wearing only a padlocked metal collar. She told police she had been abducted three days earlier in Albuquerque by Ray and his girlfriend, Cynthia Hendy, and held at their mobile home, where she was raped and tortured. Jaramillo escaped while Ray was at work, clawing free of her restraints and fighting off Hendy with an ice pick.6History. Evidence of Murder Is Uncovered in New Mexico
Authorities identified at least 14 victims, though Ray’s personal journals suggested he may have assaulted as many as 60 women. The FBI cataloged more than 400 personal items — jewelry, clothing, and other belongings — suspected to be trophies.7FBI. David Parker Ray Ray was never convicted of murder. No bodies were definitively linked to him. He claimed to have abducted roughly 40 victims across multiple states, but no burial sites were ever located.5People. Toy Box Killer Tortured Women in Soundproof Trailer
In 2001, Ray accepted a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and received 224 years for kidnapping and related charges. He died of a heart attack in 2002, shortly after being transferred to a state penitentiary and before investigators could secure his cooperation in finding possible burial sites.5People. Toy Box Killer Tortured Women in Soundproof Trailer
Ray did not act alone. His girlfriend, Cynthia Hendy, testified against him and was sentenced to 36 years for kidnapping and torture; she was released in July 2019 after serving roughly half her sentence. His daughter, Glenda Jean “Jesse” Ray, who helped drug and collect victims, was arrested for her role in a 1996 kidnapping and sexual assault and received two and a half years in prison plus five years of probation. Dennis Yancy, who strangled a woman named Marie Parker on Ray’s instructions, was convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and received two 15-year terms.8DGO Magazine. The Fall of Satan’s Den
Robert Fry, the Farmington Serial Killer
Robert Fry murdered at least five people in and around Farmington between 1994 and 2000. The confirmed victims are Sandra Phillips, strangled in 1994; Joseph Fleming and Matthew Trecker, killed together in 1996; Donald Tsosie, a Navajo man bludgeoned to death in 1998; and Betty Lee, beaten and stabbed to death in June 2000.9Radford University. Robert Fry Case Analysis He was also suspected in the 1998 disappearance of Pernell Tewangonitewa and a 1997 incident in which he terrorized a woman named Rhonda Knott with a gun before she escaped.
Fry killed Betty Lee with an eight-inch Bowie knife and a ten-pound sledgehammer. His accomplice in that murder, Leslie Engh, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping and testified against Fry at trial.10FindLaw. State v. Fry A jury convicted Fry of first-degree murder, kidnapping, attempted criminal sexual penetration, and tampering with evidence, and sentenced him to death. The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed in 2005.
New Mexico prospectively abolished capital punishment in 2009, but Fry and one other inmate, Timothy Allen, remained on death row under the earlier statute. In 2019, the New Mexico Supreme Court vacated both sentences, finding them “statutorily disproportionate” and seeing no meaningful basis for distinguishing the two cases from similar murders where death was not imposed. The court ordered life imprisonment for both. Fry is not eligible for release; alongside the life sentence for Lee’s murder, he faces an additional 120 years for separate first-degree murder convictions from 1996 and 1998.11New Mexico Courts. Supreme Court Vacates Death Sentences of the Last Inmates on Death Row
Sean Lannon and the Sunport Case
In March 2021, Albuquerque police found the body of Randall Apostalon inside his pickup truck at the Albuquerque International Sunport, along with the dismembered remains of three other people: Jennifer Lannon, Jesten Mata, and Matthew Miller. Sean Lannon, Jennifer’s ex-husband, confessed to killing the three in Grants, New Mexico, dismembering the bodies, and storing the parts in plastic bins before hiring Apostalon to transport them. When Apostalon apparently discovered what was in the bins, Lannon beat him to death with a hammer in a southeast Albuquerque parking lot.12KRQE. Man Accused of Four New Mexico Murders Pleads Guilty in One Case
Lannon was also tied to the murder of Michael Dabkowski, killed with a hammer in New Jersey. He was arrested days later in St. Louis while driving Dabkowski’s car. He pleaded guilty to Dabkowski’s murder in 2022 and received 35 years in a New Jersey prison.13KOAT. Sean Lannon Sunport Murders Court In a phone call to a relative, Lannon claimed to have killed 16 people total, but no additional charges have been publicly announced after investigators in both states reviewed records, surveillance footage, and financial documents.14CBS News. Sean Lannon Confession: Killing 16 People
In May 2024, Lannon pleaded guilty in New Mexico to Apostalon’s murder and was sentenced to 15 years by Judge Brett Loveless. He still faces a separate murder trial in Cibola County for the deaths of Jennifer Lannon, Jesten Mata, and Matthew Miller. He is expected to serve his New Mexico sentence before returning to New Jersey to complete the 35-year term there.12KRQE. Man Accused of Four New Mexico Murders Pleads Guilty in One Case
Labar Tsethlikai and the Pending Federal Case
The most recent serial murder prosecution in New Mexico involves Labar Tsethlikai, a 51-year-old Zuni Pueblo man accused of kidnapping 11 Native American men and killing two of them between 2022 and 2024. He faces 17 federal felony counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping resulting in death, four counts of kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, and assault with intent to commit murder.15U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Intent to Seek Death Penalty Against Tsethlikai
Prosecutors describe the victims as a vulnerable population of men who were homeless, addicted to controlled substances, or both. The crimes occurred primarily in McKinley County, with additional attacks in Gallup, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe. Court documents refer to the victims as John Does. The earliest known killing dates to October 22, 2022; the second occurred on January 18, 2024, in a remote area of the Zuni reservation.16Albuquerque Journal. Zuni Man Faces Federal Charges of Murder, Kidnapping
Tsethlikai was initially charged with second-degree murder in April 2024. Charges were upgraded through a December 2024 superseding indictment.17U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney, FBI Announce Additional Charges Against Alleged Serial Murderer In June 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office formally announced its intent to seek the federal death penalty after authorization by the Attorney General.15U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Intent to Seek Death Penalty Against Tsethlikai The case is designated complex and has been delayed multiple times. In October 2025, U.S. District Judge David Urias granted a defense motion to stay proceedings because a federal budget crisis prevented funding for the defendant’s legal defense.18Yahoo News. Zuni Man’s Death Penalty Case Delayed As of June 2026, the case remains in the pre-trial phase with no trial date set.19CourtListener. United States v. Tsethlikai
The case has drawn attention to the broader crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in New Mexico. Between 2014 and 2019, 16% of missing person cases in the state involved Indigenous people, and Albuquerque and Gallup have been identified as having some of the highest rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in the country.20New Mexico Department of Justice. Seeking Justice for MMIP In 2024, the state legislature tasked the Attorney General with leading a new MMIP Task Force to update the state’s response plan and address long-standing jurisdictional gaps between tribal, state, and federal authorities.
How Cold Case Work Is Handled in New Mexico
Two state entities handle unresolved serial and homicide investigations. The New Mexico State Police Cold Case Homicide Unit works cases where all leads have been exhausted and at least one year has passed since the initial investigation. The unit tracks dozens of unsolved murders statewide ranging from the late 1970s to the 2010s.21New Mexico Department of Public Safety. NMSP Cold Case Unit The New Mexico Department of Justice runs its own Cold Case Unit, which it describes as a team using advanced forensic technology in collaboration with statewide law enforcement.22New Mexico Department of Justice. Solving Cold Cases With Modern Forensic Technologies Anyone with information about the West Mesa case or other unsolved killings can contact APD or the relevant cold case unit directly.