Criminology - The Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre

Episode Date: August 22, 2021

On February 10th, 1990, two men entered the Las Cruces Bowl, a family-run bowling alley, and held everyone inside the building at gunpoint. The two men stole some cash, shot all seven people inside the building, including young children, and then set the place on fire. 12-year-old Melissa Repass was able to call 911, even though she had been shot multiple times, and give the authorities vital information. Her courage was amazing in the face of the pain and fear she must have been experiencing during that time. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the tragic case of the Las Cruces bowling alley massacre. It's a tragic and horrifying case. The two perpetrators most likely hid potential evidence when they set the bowling alley on fire. People have had trouble developing a motive and the case has been unsolved for over 30 years. Motive is tough in this case because the killers didn't empty the safe of all of the money inside. Were they looking for something else or using robbery to mislead police as to the true reason for the murders? There are a lot of questions in this case and many theories that have been floating around for a long time. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology An Emash Digital production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hello everyone and welcome to episode 171 of the criminology podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. I'm Mike Morford. Mr. Morford, what's going on with you? Not too much. Just ready to jump into this episode. I look forward to these recordings every week with you. And I think we've got a good one today.

People are going to be interested in this case. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe you and I have talked about it before. but you know when you and I get to sit down and record the actual episode that's the fun part right I've in the past kind of equated it to professional sports I think most people love to play the games well to play the games you have to go through all the grueling practices and all that so we have to do all the work up front which is not always you know super fun I mean I mean, we're researching what we want to research, but it's grueling.

It's hard work. But then we get to the part where we get to sit down and talk about the episode, record the episode. I mean, that's the game. That is what I consider to be the really fun part of what we do. Yeah, I don't know about you, but it seems like when we record the episode, even though we've already read all the stuff and checked out stuff and the details, as I'm reading it back as we're recording. new things jump out to me and I start thinking about them. And sometimes we, we talk about that as we're moving along and, and sort of dissect some of the details. Yeah,

absolutely. So before we get into it, we have some Patreon shoutouts to give. Again, we're short on Patreon shoutouts. So I would ask everyone, you know, if you love the show, if you've ever thought about helping us out by becoming a Patreon, you know, now's a really good time. We had Amy Brown. Mark Chiler and Beth and Logan. So we appreciate that support very much. And maybe as a reminder too, it's important to say that if you are a supporter on Patreon,

you'll get early access to add free episodes of the show. So it's worth it. But for everyone that has contributed and supported us on Patreon, we can't thank you enough. It goes a long way. And we really appreciate it. If you'd like to support the show, go to patreon.com.

slash criminology. All right, buddy, it's time to jump into this episode. And today we're discussing a violent and bloody case with several victims that is still unsolved after more than three decades. We're heading to New Mexico, the land of enchantment. You know, this is a state morph that I've only been to a couple times. But those two times that I did visit, I was kind of in awe, you know, from where I come from in the Midwest to go to New Mexico and see the landscape. And, you know, I can remember one time I was in Albuquerque. And I remember I was standing, I don't know, in the middle of the city somewhere. And it was probably 90 degrees or more. And I looked up into the mountains. And there was snow all over these mountains. And I remember thinking, this is amazing.

I mean, this is something that you would not see in the heartland, let's say, of Ohio, where I live, mostly flat, you know, kind of chugging along the interstate. You're going to see some cows. You're going to see some farms and things like that. We just don't have the elevation and kind of the topography that some of these other states do. And I remember thinking, this is a really cool place. Yeah, I've actually got some distant relatives that used to live out there. And as a kid, we took a train ride across New Mexico to Albuquerque, I think. And I just remember looking at the windows being in awe of the, as you mentioned,

you could see mountains in the background and up close over cactuses and lots of stuff that you would expect out in the southwestern states. It is a beautiful place. And it's not the kind of place when you think about the kind of stuff we're going to discuss happening. you know, it sort of clashes with that, what we remember. Las Cruces is the second biggest city in New Mexico. It's just 41 miles north of the Mexican border. In 1990, there were almost 58,000 people living there, with its main employer being the U.S. government.

It's a place with a harsh climate. In the summer, the temperatures can soar out of control, making you thankful for the days when it's only in the low 90s. And during the winter months, you can count on a bitter and biting winter, even if there's no snow on the ground. And that's when this case takes place. On February 10, 1990, two men entered the Las Cruces Bowl, a bowling alley located at 1201 East Amador Avenue, and they held everyone inside the building at gunpoint.

34-year-old Stephanie Seneck, the manager of the bowling alley, was there that morning with her 12-year-old daughter, Melissa Repass and Melissa's 13-year-old friend Amy Houser. Stephanie was getting ready to open the bowling alley for the day. They were scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Melissa and Amy were going to serve as the daycare for the bowling alley that day. They would be in charge of keeping any of the young children that came into the bowling alley busy and entertained. The Lost Cruces Bowl was owned by Ron Senac, who was Stephanie Suss. father and Melissa's grandfather. This was a tight-knit family business. But Ron was in Arizona that day,

so Stephanie was in charge. Ida Holguin, the cook for the bowling alley, was working in the kitchen prepping food for the day. 26-year-old Steve Taron, the pin mechanic for the bowling alley, hadn't been able to find a babysitter for his two children, so he brought them to work with him. His two-year-old daughter, Valerie Taron, and his six-year-old stepdaughter Paula Holwell. one. He planned to drop the girls off with Amy and Melissa at the alley's daycare while he worked. It's worth pointing out that Steve's stepdaughter, Paula, wasn't related to Ida the Cook, though they shared the same last name. And while it's probably unrelated to what would unfold that day, Steve had recently put in his two weeks notice. At 8.15 a.m., Stephen C. Nack,

Stephanie's brother, stopped by the Los Cruces Bowl to pick up a backpack that he had forgotten. When he arrived, he found the doors were unlocked, which was unusual, but inside nothing was out of the ordinary. On his way heading out to his car, he noticed two Hispanic men walking toward the bowling alley. At 8.20 a.m., the girls, Melissa and Amy went to the vending machine to get snacks, and they saw two men standing inside one of the doorways of the building. The men pointed guns at the girls. And once they got the girls under control, the two men split up. One man led the girls into the office where Stephanie was working oblivious to the danger. And the other man went towards the kitchen where he found Ida.

Ida was busy in the kitchen and didn't notice the strange man who was now in the room with her. She wasn't alarmed at first. She thought the man might be there to clean the inside of the building. But when he raised his hand up, she could see he was holding a handgun. which was later determined to be a 22 caliber pistol. And the man used it to force Ida to walk to Stephanie's office, where Melissa, Amy, and Stephanie were all being held at gunpoint by the second man. Ida recalls the man telling her that it was a holdup,

and she needed to go with him. The two men told the four frightened women and girls to lay face down, and they all complied. It was at this point that the men began to rob the bowling alley safe, getting somewhere around $4,000 to $5,000, which would be the equivalent of, you know, about $10,000 today. It was also then that Steve Taryn walked into the office with his two daughters after he wasn't able to find anyone in the rest of the building. Now, there is some conflicting information that Steve Taryn was shot as he tried to fight the attackers upon entering the office. there are also some reports that seem to indicate that he too was forced to lay on the floor with the others while the men ransacked the office.

Suddenly, without any kind of warning, the two men began shooting at the seven scared people lying on the floor in front of them. There may be truth that Steve fought the attackers and that they didn't have time to force him and his daughters to lay down. Because later on, Audrey Terran, Steve's widow, would state that two-year-old Valerie was shot in the forehead. not in the back of the head, and that six-year-old Paula had a black eye, like she had been punched, as well as other bruises. However the shootings happened, they were brutal and deadly. When the shooting was over, 25 shots total had been fired. The men then burned some papers to start a fire in the office, apparently trying to burn down the bowling alley after they left. It was around this time that a man who was painting a building across the street saw two men run south

after crossing Amador Avenue. At 8.33 a.m., a heartbreaking 9-1-1 call came in from the Las Cruces Bowl. We're going to play the audio, which is about four minutes long, and it's tough to listen to. But I think it really emphasizes just how dire the situation was. Officers in route. They'll be with you just shortly. Okay. Okay.

You didn't see what any of the men were wearing. You didn't see what any kind of the... Smoke that may have lift the bill to find you. 33 traffic. On the street, huh? She said, buys all seven are shot. They're injured. They're in the office.

Where's the office at? What is they know? In the door to the bus desk. And then you take a right and we're right in the bill. I get to you. To the police officers that are there. Right now. Okay.

Can you see flame? What you just heard was 12-year-old Melissa repass. She had been shot five times. So she was in pain. She was scared. She was worried about the, other people who were with her. And more of obviously, you really have to give her credit. Because despite this horrific situation that she was in, she stayed on the phone with the 911

dispatcher for almost four minutes, relaying as much information as she could right up until the time that first responders got there. And her information allowed them to know just what they were walking into. When first responders and authorities arrived and made their way inside the lost cruis bull, they found the lifeless bodies of Amy Hauser, Paula Holguyen, and Steve Terran. It was quickly apparent that the three had not died from the fire, but instead they died from gunshots. And I don't think it took them all that long more to realize that, you know, these were point blank shots. They then found two-year-old Valerie and she was quickly rushed to Memorial General Hospital, but she died before she even got there and was pronounced dead upon arrival. So no doubt,

Morph, and you said it up front, right? This was an extremely horrific scene. But I want to go back to Melissa Repas. You know, we just had an episode out last week about two young brave individuals. So here we have another one, 12 year old girl. She had been shot five times. It's obvious. She would have been in extreme agony. She would have been completely scared. But then you look at what her first thought was. It was concerned about the other people who were with her there inside the bowling alley. I'm blown away by, you know, these young people who experience these types of situations, but they have a maturity way beyond their years.

And they're able to make calls. They're able to relay vital, crucial information to the authorities while at the same time, you know, going through a terrible ordeal. Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt that she played a major role in helping the first responders get there and letting them know what had happened. So when they walked in, they'd know where to search and what to look for. But I don't think anything could have prepared them for what they would find when they came in because seeing little children, you know, one is as young as two years old,

shot point blank, I think they knew right away that they were dealing with some serious evil, whatever you want to call it, people. And I think when you're dealing with someone that's going to shoot a two-year-old child, you know that you're up against someone that's just pure evil and they'll probably do anything to survive or stay free. Well, yeah, that was my first thought, right as a person if you're able to kill anyone in cold blood okay that definitely says something about you it says that you're willing to cross just about any line but then when you think about being able to walk up to a two year old and shoot that two year old in the head at point blank range that tells me that you're willing to do anything. There is no line for you because, you know, to most people, what's more horrific than that?

What is a two-year-old going to do to you? Nothing. So if you can do that, I think from the standpoint of the police, you're likely to be able to do anything. And I think these first responders, while they knew that they were dealing with a crime scene and wanted to protect it at the same time, they were trying to pull out any survivors and at the same time extinguished the fire. So that scramble may have destroyed potential evidence. The water may have washed away any blood, footprints, or fingerprints left by the offenders. Of course, this happened in 1990, so the awareness of DNA wasn't what it is today, and the rescue efforts may have removed any DNA that there was from the offenders,

or contaminated any DNA left by them, if it somehow became mixed with any of the first responders' DNA. One thing is for sure. After 30 plus years since this attack occurred, there's no DNA profile from any suspects that's been collected in evidence related to this case. Because of Melissa's bravery in making that 911 call and providing so many details, the first responders were able to find her and get her out, as well as her mother, Stephanie, and Ida Holguyen. And because of that, all three survived. Now, the road to recovery was not an easy one for any of these three individuals. Idaho, Gwen was in the hospital for six months and she had to essentially relearn everything from walking to talking. Her husband Raymond noted personality changes in her and long-lasting brain damage that

prevented her from doing things like using a drinking fountain or even walking upstairs. Sadly, as for Stephanie C-Nak, she passed away in 1999 due to complications from the injuries that she sustained on February 10th, 1990, officially making her the fifth murder victim of the massacre. So we mentioned it more, right, the bravery of what Melissa was able to do. It did a couple of things, right? It let authorities know vital information about what. was going on at the scene. So maybe without her 911 call and without her specific information,

they have to kind of stand pat, right? We've seen this in cases. When the authorities get there, if they don't know what's going on, are they able to rush right in and help the victims, or are they staging? Because they don't know whether or not the perpetrators, you know, whether or not the perpetrators are still inside. You know, these are just some things to think about because if they have to do that, are they able to get inside in time to save these three individuals? Yeah, I think they knew that time was of the essence and they didn't have time to sort of assess things from outside they needed to get in there and start trying to save lives. And that call from Melissa alerted them to just how dire things were. And that extra. And that extra,

a couple minutes of not waiting around to try and get in there may have made the difference in saving their lives because in just a couple minutes you could take a turn for the worst, you could bleed to death. So that made it made all the difference in the world. And then you talk about someone like Ida, who survived but had such a long road, you know, having to relearn everything. And, you know, even once you do that. You know, her husband said she was never the same. She had personality changes. She had brain damage that prevented her from doing what all of us would consider just kind of normal, everyday, easy things.

The city of Los Cruces was shocked and sadden over the senseless attack at the bowling alley. No one knew who could be so evil as to kill several people in cold blood, including women and children. Residents there wondered if the killers were living among them. Police had to immediately focus on finding the men who had done this. Despite Melissa's assertion during the 911 call that the men were black, after talking to her in more detail, as well as taking the description of the two men Stephen Seneca had seen when he picked up his backpack the morning of the attack, police released descriptions of two Hispanic suspects, one around age 30, about 5'10 and 170 pounds, with dark, wavy hair, light eyes, and no accent.

the other man was thought to be about 50 years old, 5'7, 140 pounds with thinning, graying, dark hair, dark skin, and a faint Spanish accent. I think very early on, police honed in on a couple of troubling details. First, that the men didn't bother to disguise themselves at all during this attack. They also didn't take all of the money that was in the safe. Their choice of weapons, 22 caliber handguns, guns were not overly loud and didn't raise any alarm, even though it was so early in the day. In fact, a 22-year-old named Albert Garcia was across the street at the time that the murders occurred and stated that he heard six or seven shots, but really didn't think about them

until police and fire department officials showed up because they didn't sound like actual gunshots to him at the time he heard them. Los Cruces Police Department Detective Chuck Franco believed that the two men were professionals due to the kind of guns used, the execution-style shootings, and the fire that was started to try and destroy evidence. Since all of the money in the safe was not taken, he wondered if robbery was really the motive at all. Traditional robbers could have done masks, committed the robbery and took off without hurting anyone and without being identified. The fact that these guys went in with no masks on might indicate that they had no

intentions of leaving anyone alive. Now, one thing that may point away from these men being professional hitmen was that 25 shots for seven people, including two young children, is excessive. And it doesn't seem like something that a skilled shooter or an experienced killer, a professional would need to do. A single shot to the back of each victim's head would have likely done the job. So I get it more of what this detective is trying to put together. You could make a case that 22 caliber handguns were picked for that very reason, right? they're not as loud as a nine obviously a 45 higher calibers but i'm not sure whether or not

22s are the weapon of choice for professionals for hitmen i just don't have that information it's not the strongest caliber right i think you and i have talked about caliber uh bullets before 22 is definitely lethal there's there's no doubt about that but But it's definitely not as lethal as either a 9mm or a 45 ACP. You know, 22s are kind of known for entering and bouncing around. And sometimes that's why they do quite a bit of damage is because of the bouncing around. But I don't know. It's something to think about as we're trying to figure out what the real motive for the

murders were. And I wonder if it's just because it was what was available to them or maybe they were less expensive if they're stolen or, you know, they got them through some kind of illegal transaction. Maybe that's just, you know, what they had to do the job and didn't select them based on any reason. Yeah, I think it's a valid question because there's no doubt, you know, if you look at 22s, they are cheaper. By and large, I mean, there are some very expensive 22 caliber pistols, but across the board, 22s are generally cheaper than nines and 45s and things like that. Further investigation led police to believe that the two men used a green or tan van or similar

vehicle to flee the crime scene that morning, but no further information about it was ever released and the vehicle is never located. To the surprise of men in the community, only six days after the murders, Ron Seneck reopened the Las Cruces Bowl. He told people that things needed to get back to normal, and everyone needed to live their lives. But to many, it seemed insensitive, and to others, it made him look suspicious. One thing was for sure, the Las Cruces Bowl was tainted following the bloody attack, and before the year was over, the bowling alley was sold because Ron Seneck was forced to declare bankruptcy due to two million dollars worth of debt, which is the equivalent of $4 million in debt today.

It was because of this massive debt that many people started to wonder if the massacre at the bowling alley was somehow tied to Ron Siena or his debt. They wondered if he had perhaps gotten mixed up in something shady or illegal. While mass murders or attacks on several people inside a business are not terribly common, there are more cases than you might think. We have covered some of them on criminology. We discussed a similar crime on the podcast, the Burger Chef murders, where in November 1978, in Speedway, Indiana, four teenage fast food workers were taken from their job and murdered

after a robbery and kidnapping. That case, too, is still unsolved to this day. We also covered the Lane Bryant murders, which occurred outside of Chicago in February 2008. In that case, five people were killed and one was injured. In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder what's emergency. We just walked in the door, and there's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved until new technology allowed investigators to do what had once been impossible.

A new series from ABC Audio in 2020, blood and water. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. If you love chilling mysteries, unsolved cases, and a touch of mom-style humor, moms and mysteries is the podcast you've been searching for. Hey guys, I'm Mandy. And I'm Melissa. Join us every Tuesday for moms and mysteries, your gateway to gripping, well-researched true crime stories. Each week, we deep dive into a variety of mind-boggling cases as we shed light on everything from heist to whoddunit.

We're your go-to podcast for Mysteries with a Motherly Touch. Subscribe now to moms and mysteries wherever you get your podcast. Work comes in many forms. Commonwealth Charter Academy works to perfect K-12 virtual learning and in-person experiences. To us, it's all in a day's work. CCA, how schools should work. Visit ccaeducate.me. Surprisingly, the Los Cruces Bowl is not the only bowling alley to be the site of multiple murders.

In 1980, a decade before the Las Cruces massacre, four people were shot at the Winfurn Fairlands Bowling Center in Houston. in Texas. In that case, the manager, an employee, and his girlfriend were all killed. A customer who was bowling survived. It was after closing at 1130, so the building was locked, but a man outside convinced the manager to help him with car trouble. The manager brought out a pitcher of water for the man, and then the manager brought the man into the bowling alley. It was then that the man with car trouble pulled out a gun and demanded that everyone lay face down on the floor while he got the money from the cash register. He then shot each victim once in the head, stole their wallets,

and fled the building. A man named Max Alexander Sofar was arrested and confessed to the attack. He was convicted and died on death row from cancer while waiting to be executed for the one for murderers. His attorney, even after Sofar's death, fought the clearest client's name, insisting that he was innocent and his confession had been coerced. There is one case we've not covered yet on criminology. It's definitely on our list. It has some parallels to the Los Cruces Massacre. In 1991, four teenage girls were murdered at I can't believe it's yogurt, a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. 17-year-old's Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas were working at the shop, waiting to close it at 11 p.m. for the night.

Jennifer's younger sister, 15-year-old Sarah, and her 13-year-old friend, Amy, were at the shop waiting to go to a slumber party with Jennifer later that night. The four girls were forced into the storage room of the shop just before closing and tied up with their own clothes. Eventually, all of the girls were killed by a shot to the back of the head. Amy was the only victim shot twice. The storage room was set on fire using supplies from the house. the shop, like disposable cups, plates, and cardboard boxes, possibly doused in lighter fluid, or maybe just fueled by the styrofoam in some of the cups and plates, there was around

$540 missing from the shop's register. Investigators believe that two guns were used during these murders and witnesses recalled seeing at least one man still in the shop just before it was set to close, while some witnesses reported two men. Two witnesses recalled that one of the men took a long time in the bathroom and that when he returned, the pair were whispering and looked suspicious. This case has widely become known as the Austin Yogurt Shop murders. Back to the Las Cruces Bowlingalee Massacre, many believe that drug cartels or organized crime is somehow connected to the case. There were local rumors that Ron Sienek had ties to the cartels. Why would anyone try to kill not only teenagers, but a six and two-year-old, especially if they were strangers to the children?

The coldness and callousness is certainly reminiscent of cartel-style slings, no matter how young or innocent the victim is. And I think to me this is the question, right? Why kill all of these people? It goes back to what we talked about earlier. If your motive is robber, you could easily put on masks, go in, force the occupants of, of the bowling alley to the floor, steal whatever you wanted to from the safe, and then just leave. There's really no reason to have to murder anyone. But when you go back to, okay, not everything was taken from the safe.

These individuals were killed. I think the majority of them while they were laying down by a gunshot to the back of the head. So I get that more from the standpoint of investigators. you're trying to make sense of that question. Why would anyone need to kill all of these people, teenagers, very young children, if they had no idea who they were, couldn't ID them? I mean, I think you have to ask that question. And I think it's also what leads investigators into the realm of,

okay, there's got to be something else here. One of these victims has to have a tie to something. and, you know, drug cartels is kind of an easy thing to take a look at because it does sound like something maybe that they would be willing to do. I mean, we talked about it, right? Some money being left in the safe points to robbery not being the main motive for the attacks. So you have to dissect that fact.

Was it because these people simply ran out of time and did not have a chance to grab everything they wanted to. Now, that one for me is tough because we're not talking about two men robbing a large bank vault and and needing time to stuff all kinds of bills into a bunch of different bags, right? We're talking about probably a relatively small safe. How much really morph could have been in that safe and how long would it have taken to clear the whole thing out? Yeah, I think it's. important to remember this is a bowling alley, how big a safe would they have, would they need? And there couldn't have been that much money in it. So it wouldn't seem like a problem for them

to get all of it out easily and escape with it. Belissa and Ida recalled that the men sort of ransacked the office, rummaging around as if they were looking for something in particular. We talked about it, right? These guys were obviously not afraid of committing this crime despite not having their faces covered. So either they didn't expect anyone to be in the bowling alley. Maybe they were going to do a smash and grab or something like that and didn't feel as though they needed to hide their faces. But once they figured out that the doors were open, they had to have known.

There were people inside. And they went forward with it anyway. And I think that shows that they just weren't worried about it. they knew that they were going to commit murder if needed. To me, there's a certain level of confidence that it takes to try to commit a robbery or an attack of any kind, if you think about it, with your face showing in broad daylight. It's pretty brazen. And I think that maybe speaks to the fact that they're perhaps hardened criminals versus, you know,

run-of-the-mill local guy that's looking to, you know, maybe strip some copper pipes or something like that, and would just assume move on to the next place and try and get away without being seen. These guys weren't afraid to go in there, guns blazing with nothing covering their face. And we really don't know the details, but I wonder if they had any knowledge or even considered whether there'd be any kind of surveillance footage or anything like that. We just don't know, but that's an interesting thing that. you know, might come back to haunt them if there was any kind of surveillance there. But Steve Seneck saw these men as he left the bowling alley with his backpack.

And these men likely saw him too. So that says something to me as well. They had to have known at that point that there was probably someone in this bowling alley. But they didn't abort the attack. And that's one reason why their composites are out there. It's because Steve saw them. Some people are troubled regarding the mention by Steve of the front door being unlocked when he arrived. According to him, the door being unlocked wasn't normal.

But more importantly, people wonder why Steve left without making sure that the building was locked behind him, if it was so important. The timing of these men moving in to start the attack, just as Steve left with his backpack, is suspicious to many. And while we don't know what was in the backpack, it's been reported that Steve left it there days earlier. Perhaps the men were after the contents of that backpack. Regarding any knowledge or involvement on Steve's part, if he knew something was going to happen, that would likely mean he knew that his own sister, Stephanie, and his niece were going to be attacked. If there was anything illegal or shady going on at the bowling alley and there was anything that would have put people in harm's way that day, we have to assume. Stephanie didn't know about it since she was there working that day.

and allowed her daughter to be there. The lead investigator early on in the case has hinted that he believed that drugs and vengeance or revenge of some sort played a role in the case, that the murders were some sort of retribution and that the men were looking for something specific, not money, in the office's file cabinets. But exactly what that is is anyone's guess. There were rumors in the Las Cruces community. that Ron's brother, who was employed at the bowling alley as a bartender, used the location to sell drugs. Authorities investigated this lead, but they only managed to turn up information that Ron Seneck's brother was addicted to cocaine,

but not that the Laus Crucese Bowl was used for any illegal activity. Detective Mark Myers, who was assigned to the case in 2002, stated publicly that the Laos Cruces Police Department put Ronald Seneck under a microscope, and they couldn't find anything damning against him. Police have also mentioned that Ron Seneck was not very cooperative, and this helped push them to look into him even more, but they still found nothing to implicate him in the murders or in anything illegal. Ron Sinek was sued by Amy Houser's mother in 1995

because the doors were left unlocked, which she felt was negligent. Had the suspects been forced to break a window or break down the door the employees inside would have known something was wrong and would have had a chance to escape or call 911 sooner. There was good reason for them to have one of the doors locked in 1990 because crime-in-loss Cruces was on the rise. Less than a month before the Bowling Alley massacre, 32-year-old Salvador Lazzano was shot

in the back of the head while his hands were bound at the service station where he worked. $500 was stolen. He opened the gas station at 8 a.m. that morning and was found by 10 a.m. in the office of the station. Salvador Lazzano's murder is still unsolved. Los Cruces police captain Fred Rubio stated that while investigators don't seriously think that there's a connection between Lazzano's murder and the Bowling Alley massacre, they're still open to that being a possibility.

I think we have to consider who was in the bowling alley that day. Some of them were not even supposed to be there. The two-year-old and six-year-old children were only there by chance because there was going to be child care available there that day. And Steve couldn't find a babysitter for the girls beforehand, as he normally would have. It was a Saturday, so Amy Hauser and Melissa Repass were there at the bowling alley instead of being at school. It's unclear whether there was child care available there on weekdays or not. We also have to think about who you would expect to be there at the bowling alley that day, but wasn't.

Ron Senac, the owner was out of town. Some would say conveniently. And his son, Stephen, was there briefly but left. I think this is why so much suspicion keeps coming back to this attack, being something other than a robbery, possibly connected to the family. So more if we've talked about a number of theories. Many people wonder if the Los Cruces Bowl was affront for a money laundering. operation. Obviously, a bowling alley would involve quite a bit of cash exchanges. So it could be ideal for a money laundering operation. There is also the theory, as there usually is when a business

owner is in debt and their business is damaged, particularly by fire, that Ron Senac wanted the Los Cruces Bowl burned down so that he could collect the insurance money. This would explain why Ron had to reopen the bowling alley less than a week after people were murdered inside of it, and his own daughter and granddaughter almost died in the building. If he had counted on no longer having operating costs plus receiving a large insurance payment, he would have found himself in need of money quickly when it didn't happen according to plan. But again, it was a family owned and run business and Ron would know that if something was going down, his own family members were at risk.

Other theories have been floated that this attack on his business, family, and employees was a warning of some sort to Ron, a way for them to tell Ron that they meant business. But the lack of a real motive and all of these rumors have only helped to fuel speculation and theories that have hung over Lost Cruces for three decades. In 2011, a documentary called A Nightmare in Las Cruces was released. It was re-released with new footage and interviews for the 30th anniversary of the massacre. And it's an excellent resource for anyone interested in this case. So I'd highly recommend it to anyone that wants to take a deeper dive into the

Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre. It's been 31 years since the Los Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre. And it doesn't seem as though police have any real leads. you can still call in tips to the Los Cruces Police at 575, 528, 4200. For the 30-year anniversary of the murders, the Los Cruces Crime Stoppers announced a $30,000 reward for information that helps identify the people responsible for the massacre. You can give a tip and stay anonymous by calling crime stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. So, morph, as we wrap up this case, I mean, there's no doubt. This was a horrible, horrific crime. So four people were murdered. Three people survived. For me, Morph, the main question here is motive.

What was the motive for this attack? And I think, you know, to be honest, the question in a lot of these unsolved cases is what was the motive? But this one especially, because, you're talking about a bowling alley with the safe that, okay, probably is not very big. A bowling alley at that time probably did deal in quite a bit of cash, but I mean, how much cash could we be talking about? To me, it's not the amount of cash that would take a very long time to stuff into a bag. You know, I keep going back to the bank robber who is inside the vault and there's so much that it's going to take, you know, X number of minutes and they got to figure out if they got that kind of time. And when you reach into a small safe, I don't care if there's a bunch of

cash in there, how much time realistically does it take to grab all that cash and put it in the back? My thought is not very long. So you have the fact that these perpetrators didn't steal all of the money. And to me, that is very perplexing. It has to tell something. Is it possible that they thought that they needed to get out right in and there? Yeah, it's possible. But again, how long would it take to grab all the money? If that's what you're there for, why not get it all? Yeah, especially if you've just attempted to kill seven people, you think you would want every last cent that was in there. You risk so much to get in there and get it. it. And I almost wonder if that is sort of a red hearing that the robbery itself is just orchestrated

to make it look like that's the real motive. I think it comes down to for police, when they can find a true motive for a case, that oftentimes leads to the right person. But that's the issue with this case is we just don't really know what the true motive here is. Yeah, I think it's the key, right? If police could establish that they were looking at that. for something else. And they could figure out what that something else was. Okay, maybe that would be a huge clue. And it would tie back to a specific individual, whether that was Ron, Ron's son, you know, a number of the different people that we talked about. But, you know, I think you also have to look at this being just a crime that was unrelated to anybody in there. I think you have to put

that out there as well. Because one of the things morph that we talked about was, you know, some of these theories that have been floated mean that individuals connected to that bowling alley knew that when it went down, some of their very close family members were in danger or potentially were going to be killed. So is any of it out of the realm of possibility? No. But you do have to look at what's more likely. And the one thing that really I take over from this case is just the cold-blooded nature of what they did. These guys are obviously dangerous. And if they've gotten away with this crime, as they have for 30 years, who knows what are the things they've done or what other crimes are connected to?

They could kill innocent people, especially a two-year-old, as we talked about, is there? anything they wouldn't do. No, I said it. I think once you cross that line, murdered, and especially the murder of a two-year-old, to me, there's no line that you're unwilling to cross. And I can't rule out the fact that these were individuals who just wanted to kill people. As sad as that is, we've seen it. And maybe the taking of some amount of money was meant to make it look as though it was a robbery. Maybe they weren't looking for, anything else. They simply went there to kill people. It's all scary, but that's a very scary thought. I don't know how likely it is that this case will be solved, but this is one I'm going to be

paying attention to and hoping to see updates on. Yeah, me too. I mean, it's, it's been over 30 years. I think you touched on it more of the fire and the fact that water is used to put out fire, that combination is not ideal, right, for leaving a lot of clues, a lot of evidence. It's many times why people do that stuff. So I don't know that this case would ever be solved based on something like that, some piece of evidence. I think this is one where it's going to take somebody with specific knowledge of the crime, the actors involved,

calling in a tip to police, an anonymous tip to crime stoppers. It's going to take something like that. Hopefully if anyone out there knows what happened, or knows who is involved. Maybe after this time, they're not afraid to speak and they'll come forward. Thanks, Gazette, the Sunny Landon for writing and research assistance in this episode. As always, if you love the show but haven't done so yet,

take a minute. Go out, give us a rating, but keep telling your friends, the word of mouth about the criminalization. Podcast really goes a long way. If you want to find us on social media, we're on Twitter with the handle at Criminology Pot. You can also find us on Facebook by searching for Criminology Podcast or by joining our Facebook discussion group, Criminology Podcast Discussion and Fans.

So, Morf, that's it for another episode of Criminology. But we'll be back with everyone next Saturday night with a brand new episode. So for Mike. And Morf. We'll talk to you next week. Take care of everyone.