Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Irene Garza Pt. 1

Episode Date: September 6, 2023

On the evening of April 16, 1960, Irene Garza went to church in the peaceful town of McAllen, Texas but never came home. Less than a week later, her body was found in a canal. Residents were terrified. Had a predator come to town to prey on them, or was one of their own a murderer? This episode originally aired in March 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of rape, murder, and assault. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. The town of McAllen, Texas, sits about 10 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border. In the mid-20th century, it had a population of just over 30,000 people, many of whom were of Mexican descent. At the time, McCallin was split by railroad tracks. Wealthier, mostly white people lived on one side,

while the Hispanic community was largely relegated to the other. But there was one thing that brought everyone together. Faith. Catholicism was the dominant religion in these white and Hispanic communities. People from both sides of the tracks mixed and mingled when they went to services at the local Roman Catholic Church. It was a sanctuary, a safe place for everyone. At least it was supposed to be.

Until one night in 1960, when a young woman went to confession and never came home. Her community had to face a terrifying possibility. Maybe the church wasn't as safe as they'd thought. Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie.

Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of Solve Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on the 1960 murder of Irene Garza. This week, we'll cover Irene's disappearance and the investigative. into her death. Next week, we'll discuss the disturbing background of her killer and find out why it took so long for authorities to get a conviction.

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Marvel Television's Wonder Man. All eight episodes now streaming, only on Disney Plus. April 16th, 1960 was a Saturday, the day before Easter. As the sun set that evening, most families in McAllen, Texas, busily prepared for the holiday, hiding eggs and tying bows on baskets. But the peace was interrupted by a man dashing through the streets. As darkness descended over the town, 57-year-old Nick Garza pounded on his neighbor's doors,

desperately searching for his daughter. Nick, it's late, what's going on? Have you seen Irene? No, is everything all right? She went to the church this evening and never came home. Oh, well, I'm sure she's just out with friends, or with a boy. She would have told us.

She always tells us what her plans are. Nick, she's 25 years old. Go on home to sleep. I'm sure she'll turn up tomorrow. Nick, what a surprise. Irene's missing. What? She went to church earlier tonight and never came home.

You know her? She wouldn't have gone somewhere without telling us. She doesn't make decisions on a whim. Something's happened. Slow down. Think about what you're saying. She was a church, right? Nothing would happen to her there. Maybe she's doing some last-minute Easter shopping. This late at night? No, please believe me. Something's wrong.

Take a deep breath, Nick. No one would ever want to harm Irene. She'll come back later with stories of a fun night out. You'll see. Nick tried to listen to his neighbors. He swallowed his fear and convinced himself that Irene was somewhere safe. Maybe she stayed at church and had gone to midnight mass. But when Irene still wasn't home by 2 a.m., Nick and his wife were really worried. They tried to get some rest, but it was hard to sleep. And when the sun rose in the morning, Irene still hadn't come home. Even if she'd gone out for a night of fun, she would have been back by now. It was Easter morning.

Irene had helped plan a whole egg hunt for her cousins. As a devoted Catholic, the holiday was extremely important to her, and yet she was just gone. Staring at his daughter's empty bed, Nick felt dread wash over him. He searched around town in the daylight, hoping to find something that would lead him back to Irene. Eventually, Nick saw Irene's car parked about a block from the Sacred Heart Church. His heart skipped a beat. Irene had planned to come straight home after confession. She wouldn't walk that far, and she wouldn't need a ride from anyone else.

Nick couldn't help but think the worst. He rushed home where the rest of his family, aunts, uncles, and cousins were waiting for the Easter egg hunt. Nick pulled his relatives close and explained that Irene was missing, and he had a terrible feeling she'd been kidnapped. Everyone agreed that Irene must have been the victim. of foul play. There was no other explanation for her sudden absence. With his family support, Nick filed a missing persons report with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's

Department. It's safe to assume that officers treated Nick just like his neighbor's head. They assured him that 25-year-old Irene was an adult, and she'd probably just gone somewhere without telling him. They weren't exactly eager to begin an investigation. Because of this, it wasn't the... the sheriff's department that discovered the first clue. It was a local named P. W. Miller. He was strolling down an empty road in McAllen when an object in the grass caught his eye.

There, seemingly tossed aside, set a single beige high-heel shoe. It was scuffed up and missing a heel tap. The man called the police. Officers bagged the heel for evidence and presented it to Irene's parents for identification. Nick's stomach dropped when he saw the shoe. It was from the pair that Irene wore a church on the night she went missing. The next morning, another clue appeared. A teacher who worked with Irene found her black patent leather purse lying about 300 yards from where the shoe was found. Her wallet and her driver's license were still inside. Near the purse, investigators also found a white lace head covering, like the one Irene wore to church. The purse, shoe, and lace head covering looked like they'd been tossed out the window of a

moving car, so the sheriff's department came up with a theory. Like Nick, they believed Irene might have been kidnapped. As her abductor drove her across McCallin, maybe she threw her belongings out the window, hoping to leave behind a trail of clues. When Nick Garza got this news, his eyes filled with tears. He'd been right all along. Something awful had happened to his daughter. He only hoped they had enough time to find her and bring her home. Local authorities had the same goal. Find Irene and get her home safely. Over the next couple of days, County Sheriff E. Vickers assembled a team of police and volunteers. They continued looking for Irene and combing the area for her possessions.

But nothing else was found, and time was running out. The authorities knew how crucial the first 72 hours were in a missing person's case. For Irene, that time was about up. The sheriff called a meeting, hoping to breathe new life into the investigation. Excuse me? I want to start by thanking each of you for your help in locating Ms. Garza. The evidence we found leads me to believe that she's in trouble. This means that we have to act fast and we have to be bold. That's why I'm organizing an even more extensive search.

I've got divers coming to drag the irrigation canals and border patrol pilots who are going to follow them overhead. The National Guard is sending 65 of their best men who are going to assist in our investigation. Detectives, you're going to split up into two groups. Some of you are going to canvass the area surrounding Sacred Heart Church. I want you to speak to every single person within a 32 block radius and see what you can find out. The rest of you are going to head into the brush where we found Irene's personal items. Civilians, that's where you can be of the most help. Keep on looking. You never know. We might

just find something that leads us to Irene. Let's get to it. Sheriff Vickers' search party conducted one of the most extensive investigations in the history of the Rio Grande Valley. And at first, it seemed like it was going to yield results. The detectives were flooded with tips from the public, and they scrambled to chase down any lead. It's always the boyfriend. Had too much tequila. It was just a joke. If you can hear this, I need your help.

My name is Irene Garza, and I was kidnapped a few days ago. I'm being held hostage in a motel. Please, save. Officers just ran into dead ends. Everyone was frustrated. It had been five days since she went missing, and hope for finding Irene was dwindling. Then, the sheriff received a call that confirmed everyone's worst fears.

It came at 7.40 a.m. on Thursday, April 21st. A local man said he'd been walking near the 2nd Street Canal when he spotted something floating in the water. He made his way closer and realized he was looking at a body. And he immediately knew who it was, Irene Garza. The sheriff dispatched officers to the sea. Investigators pulled Irene out of the water. Her blouse was on but unbuttoned and her skirt had floated up above her head.

She was missing her shoes and her underwear. The coroner's office examined her body. She had two black eyes and bruises on the right side of her face, which suggested she'd been beaten with a hard object. It also appeared that Irene had fallen into a coma and died from suffocation. at some point while she was unconscious she had been raped. It was the worst possible news Irene's family could have gotten.

Not only was Irene dead, but her final hours remarked by fear and suffering. Irene's brother-in-law was sent to identify her body. He confirmed it was her and ran from the morgue in horror. The rest of McAllen was just as shaken as the Garzes. Their safe religious town had been touched by the devil. And there were only two options. A killer had infiltrated their peaceful town, or the murderer was one of their own. Coming up, citizens and detectives search for Irene's killer.

And now, back to our story. 25-year-old Irene Garza's murder shook the people of McCallin, Texas. She'd been beaten, raped, and suffocated to death by, an unknown assailant. It was a horrifying crime to befall a close-knit town. And it didn't make any sense. Irene was the definition of an innocent victim. In late April of 1960, investigators delved into her history. They uncovered a picture of a kind, generous woman who didn't have a single enemy. Irene Garza grew up in McCallin in a tight-knit Mexican-American family because she was light-skinned and middle class,

she was often given the same privileges as her white peers. Unlike many Hispanic people in the area, she swam in the local whites-only swimming pool and attended all-white events. In other words, Irene was loved and accepted by people on both sides of the railroad tracks. This allowed her to break all kinds of barriers. She became the first Hispanic head drum majorette

at McCallin High School, and was later crowned both homecoming and prom queen. She then attended the nearby Pan American College as a first-generation student. Shortly after graduation, she got a job as an elementary school teacher in McAllen. Most of her students were Hispanic and many lived below the poverty line. Seeing them show up at school without backpacks or books, devastated Irene. She used her first paycheck to buy clothes and school supplies for her students. This level of generosity wasn't unusual for Irene.

She took her Catholic faith very seriously and dedicated a large portion of her time to helping others. She often referred to McCallin's Sacred Heart Church as her second home. There she attended Mass daily and went to confession once a week. As they dug into Irene's past, authorities found a letter that she wrote to a friend before her death. It highlighted how much her religion meant to her. I have to confess, I'm happier than I've ever been. I've made quite a few friends this year. The children I'm teaching are such a joy,

and I was just elected secretary of my school's PTA. It may not sound like much, but to me, it means a great deal, namely because it means that I'm overcoming my terrible shyness and becoming more sure of myself. This is in large part due to my faith, which continues to sustain me. You can't imagine the happiness and courage it brings me. Remember the last time we talked? I told you I was afraid of death.

Well, I am cured. Thanks to the strength of the Lord, I'm not scared anymore. Irene wrote this letter just seven days before she went. missing, and investigators used it as a jumping-off point to create a timeline of her final days. From her family, they learned that she'd spent time on Saturday, April 16th, prepping for her young cousin's Easter egg hunt. At 6.30 that night, she told her mother she was going to church. She made it clear that she'd be back soon and borrowed the family car.

Plenty of witnesses recalled seeing Irene at Sacred Heart that night, but no one remembered her leaving. By the end of the night, the church was empty, and the only car in the parking lot belonged to her. Then five days later, her body was found, washed up in the canal. When citizens of McCallin heard about the gruesome nature of Irene's murder, they went from worried to absolutely frantic. Rumors about who the culprit could be circled the town like tornadoes. A group of local businesses offered a reward totaling $10,000 for anyone who could identify the perpetrator. Unfortunately, this large sum only seemed to attract people with crackpot theories or a desire to take the money for themselves. Sheriff Vickers did his best to ignore the frenzy

overtaking McCallin. Instead of listening to the gossip, he put his head down and continued his investigation. Listen up, fellas. I know we're all fired up to figure out who murdered Ms. Garza, but you should be aware that even though we've got the city's support and the state's resources, we are embarking on a very difficult investigation. We've got no murder scene, there are no fingerprints on the evidence we found, and we don't know anyone who might have held a grudge against Ms. Garza. In short, we've got no motive. Unless someone comes forward to confess, we're stuck piecing together this mystery. Now, I'm going to hand it over to my partner.

her. Miss Garza was last seen at the Sacred Heart Church, I want a group of detectives to find out the name of every person who was there the night of the 16th and interview all of them. Those of you who aren't interviewing the parishioners should be talking to the neighbors. I know we spoke to them when we knew the girl was missing, but they just might remember something else now that she's dead. I'm also going to need some of you to supervise the draining in search of the canal. We're hoping to find more evidence, so keep an eye out and make sure those workers are

careful with the scene. I think that about wraps it up. Oh, wait, a couple of you should interview Father O'Brien and that visiting priest, whatever his name is. See if they saw anyone new or suspicious that night, or if Irene confessed something to them that might be a clue. I don't know that they can tell. I know they're not supposed to tell us what happens in confession,

but see if you can get them to spill anyway. Yeah? All right, let's solve this thing. Detectives interviewed churchgoers and locals. Meanwhile, Vickers sent a few sheriff's deputies to patrol the banks of the Second Street Canal. It wasn't long before someone spotted something. About four blocks from where Irene's body surfaced, investigators discovered a muddy shoe print. The ground was soaked so it was difficult to make out the exact size of the print,

but everyone agreed that it belonged to a man's shoe. While that shoe print could have come from anyone that strolled along the canal in the past week, there was one element that proved it belonged to the killer. Tangled in the mud of the print was a strand of Irene's hair. Investigators spread their search area a bit wider. Nearby, they discovered faint tire tracks and the imprint of a dress being dragged toward the water. This was clearly where the killer had disposed of Irene's body. The clues weren't much, but they did help narrow down a few elements of the crime.

The murderer was most likely a man with access to a car, and due to the drag marks, he likely acted alone. Had he worked with a partner, they likely would have carried the body together. It seemed like luck was finally on law enforcement's side, because around the time they found the shoe print, Vickers received some stunning news. Hey, Sheriff, you want to get back here right away. Canals drained, and we got something.

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After draining the Second Street Canal in McAllen, Texas, law enforcement uncovered important new evidence. They were hoping it was the missing piece they needed to solve 25-year-old Irene Garza's murder. Detectives called Sheriff Vickers and his partner over to take a look. What have we got? A candelabra and a slide viewer. Interesting. You think the candelabra could have been used to beat up the girl?

Could be. I'm also thinking they might have come from the church, which points to someone who was at Sacred Heart with Irene that night. We'll get Father O'Brien to confirm that. Now, this slide viewer. Maybe the monster took pictures of her, tossed it in the canal when he was finished with his business. So we agree. This thing probably belonged to our culprit? Yep. Let's notify the public. See if anyone recognizes it. On it. Two days later, to the officer's surprise, someone stepped forward to claim the slide viewer, someone who had been at the church that night, and who no one in McAllen knew very well,

a visiting priest named Father John Fyte. John Fight was 27 years old. He'd recently finished his seminary training in San Antonio, about 300 miles north of McAllen. He came to the Rio Grande Valley for a year of pastoral training. John wore horn-rimmed glasses and spoke both English and Spanish fluently, which was an important skill in South Texas. He was shy and a bit of a loner, but for the most part, everyone seemed to like him. When John called the police to claim the slide viewer,

he said that he bought it the previous summer and had lost it at some point during his time in McAllen. He said he wasn't sure how it ended up in the canal. But Sheriff Vickers wasn't satisfied with. with John's story. Authorities were able to confirm that the candelabra came from the church. Because it was found so close to the slide viewer, detectives believed they were all dumped in the canal together. It was possible that someone else had stolen the slide viewer and tossed it into the canal, but it didn't seem likely. The detectives called John Fight-in for questioning. When he walked into the station, officers noticed that he had scratches on both of his hands.

and wasn't wearing his usual horn-rimmed glasses. Father Fight, thank you so much for joining us. Of course. Anything I can do to help. I see you're wearing new glasses. Changing up your style? I actually broke them that night. The night of the tragedy.

I have this habit of playing around with them as I'm listening to confession, and I accidentally snap them. Let's talk about that night. Did you see Miss Garza at the church? Yes, I did. It was quite crowded that night, with it being the night before Easter and all. Irene said she wanted to have confession in the rectory, as she feared being heard by everyone in line outside.

And you obliged? Yes, sir. Last I saw her, she was leaving the rectory after we finished around 7.15 or 7.20 p.m. And you don't know where she went after that? No. When did you first realize she was? is missing. Not until Easter, when her parents showed up at the church. They, well, they asked me if I knew anything about their daughter. Frankly, they accused me of saying something to upset Irene.

And that disturbed me quite a bit because, of course, I didn't. Is that it? Am I free to go? You've always been free to go. But we do have one last question for you, if you're able to stay for another moment. Go on. Why are your hands all scratched up? Oh, I was locked out of my house the other night, and I had to climb up a wooden barricade to get in through the second floor balcony.

I scraped my hands up pretty bad on the way. What night was this exactly? Um, April 16th, sir. The, um, night in question. To investigators, it seemed like, John knew his broken glasses and scratched up hands looked suspicious. It seemed like he'd rehearsed his answers beforehand, which only made authorities more certain that he was hiding something.

When they looked further into the priests' past, they discovered something shocking. John had recently been accused of assault. On March 23, 1960, just three weeks before Irene was murdered, a young woman named Maria Gera was walking, in Edinburgh, 12 miles from Macallon. Suddenly, Maria had the eerie sensation of someone watching her. She looked around, and her eyes landed on a man with horn-rimmed glasses, staring at her

through the window of his blue and white sedan. Maria's skin crawled. She turned away and tried to put the incident out of her mind, but she couldn't shake that creepy feeling. Later that evening, she went to Edinburgh's Sacred Heart Church to pray. The sanctuary was empty save for one dark-haired man sporting horn-rimmed glasses,

sitting by himself in one of the back pews. The man put Maria on edge, but she told herself it couldn't be the same person who'd been watching her before. She was in her church, in the safest place possible. She staled herself, walk to the altar, and knelt at the communion rail to pray her rosary. Footsteps brinted up behind her.

Before Maria could react, she felt arms wrapped tightly around her chest. Maria screamed. Her attacker tried to clamp a rag over her mouth to gag her. She flailed backwards and the two of them crashed to the floor. The man tried to stifle her cries with his hands and she bit down on his fingers until she drew blood. As soon as he pulled his hand away in pain, Maria jumped to her feet. He followed suit and shoved her into a wall. But Maria was too quick for her attacker.

She escaped his grasp and bolted out a side door of the church, weeping and yelling for help. As Maria stood in the parking lot struggling to catch her breath, another man saw her attacker sprint away. Maria reported the incident, but authorities were skeptical of her story. She hadn't really seen her attacker. All she could tell them for sure was that he wore glasses and drove a blue and white car. But Maria also had a hunch that she'd been assaulted by a priest. The man hadn't been wearing a collar or a robe, but his black pants looked exactly like the ones the other priests wore.

As soon as she said this, though, authorities shut down their questioning. They refused to believe she'd been assaulted by a church official. Maria, in turn, convinced herself that she must have been mistaken, In addition to the trauma of being attacked, she now had to grapple with the shame she felt for accusing a priest. Returning to church became painful for Maria and grew worse when the story of Irene's murder reached Edinburgh. Rumor spread that the killer might have been a priest. So when investigators from McCallin contacted Maria to get her story, she felt relieved. Someone actually believed her.

They showed her a picture of John Fight, and she positively identified him as her attacker. It was a weight off her shoulders, but it was also sickening. Her town's refusal to consider a priest as a criminal might have allowed John to commit another even bigger crime. With Maria's identification, Vickers felt even more sure that John Fight murdered Irene. He'd been one of the last people to see her alive. his belongings were found near her body, and they now knew he had a history of violence. They called John back to the station

to question him about Maria Gera's assault. John, are you aware that a woman believes you assaulted her on March 23rd at the Sacred Heart Church in Edinburgh? I am, yes. I mean, I know she thinks that, but I didn't do it. No? Because there are witnesses who say they saw you in Edinburgh that day. Well, I was in it.

Edinburgh that day, and I did go to Sacred Heart to speak with the priest and the rectory there. This woman says she saw you sitting in the back pew. I did enter the church to say my rosary, yes, but this was all well before the time she says she was attacked. Is it? You seem to know a lot. I kept abreast of the story, yes. I was being accused of something I didn't do after all, and to be attacked in a house of God.

Well, that's just horrifying. I'm doing the church a service by being aware. Mm-hmm. Sure. Really? I left Sacred Heart before Miss Gera says she got there. I was back at the pastoral house in time to ring the 5.30 bell. And the lacerations on your finger? We have witnesses who say that you had some pretty deep cuts, right where Miss Gera claims to have bitten her attacker.

I already had those cuts before I got to Edinburgh. Just the day before, I'd gotten my hand stuck in the mimial. machine could happen to anyone. John was being evasive, so the police scheduled him for a lie detector test. They called in the best polygraph team in the country. Because lie detector tests were still considered admissible evidence in 1960, everyone was eager to see how John fared. John willingly took part in two days of intensive questioning. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the process. He offered up questions that the examiner could ask him and explicitly said authorities would never be able to lock him up without a full confession.

Despite his confidence, John failed the polygraph test spectacularly. The examiner concluded that his answers implicated him in the crimes against Maria Gera and Irene Garza. McAllen Police contacted Edinburgh authorities to ensure John Fight would be charged for assaulting Maria Gera. Then they set their sights on arresting him for Irene Garza's murder. Meanwhile, members of the Catholic Church put their own plans in motion.

They couldn't let word get out that a priest had attacked a woman and was suspected of raping and murdering another. The blow to the church's reputation would be too much to bear. The battle over John Fight was in full swing. The police had the power to bring him to justice. But the church had the power to make him disappear.

Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with part two of Irene Garza's story. For more information on the murder of Irene Garza, amongst the many sources we used, we found Pamela Koloff's Texas Monthly article Unholy Act extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of solved murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast,

for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time. Solve Murder's True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Michael Langsner, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly, Madden, and Freddie Beckley.

This episode of Solve Murders was written by Ellie Reed, with writing assistance by Karas Allen and Giles Hofsef. fact-checking by Claire Cronin and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tiana Camacho, Joe Hernandez, Laura Faye Smith, Lath Walsh Lager, and Charlie Wes. Solved Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.