The latest Jensen & Holes Murder Squad Podcast covers this case.

http://themurdersquad.com/episodes/the-las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre/

It has been 31 years... still not solved. Holes zeroed in on the papers that were burned as being a possible source of the motive.

Also big emphasis on this being a drug related crime. One of the family members (R.J. Senac , son of the owner of the Alley) reportedly had addiction issues and would do deals at the alley. Hmmm.

Count me fully in the camp of this being drug related. The victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d5ab8d3ab0f7c0001a67cd8/1578254200354-RRBOFSVVZJVOVOAQ9HDK/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGraE2Kz0NvvGK9G8tr3BvFZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWEtT5uBSRWt4vQZAgTJucoTqqXjS3CfNDSuuf31e0tVGUafAJpRcwj6qW_u9toJLJV0zbC4vPWKDNjwlsYQ99-MAJmINPXmfpzHGRAIjNQOk/las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre-3e0049fc-b8ec-4a08-a4d5-6d2a987903a-resize-750.jpeg

No word on the whereabouts of Hector Elizondo and Eddie Murphy that morning...hmm. :crazy:

Sad case. I always thought that the guy with the mustache looked like Eddie Murphy.

Sad case. I always thought that the guy with the mustache looked like Eddie Murphy.

More Lionel Richie to me.. But.. I see the Eddie there.

For this to be more than a robbery gone wrong.. I can make arguments both ways. I mean, a robbery.. Attempted murder of 7 people? 2 of them being small children?

That's pretty odd. I mean, when you've seen situations like this, like restaurant murders where the employees were put in a cooler and killed.. Usually it's because one of them knew the robbers..

In this case, 3 of the victims lived (After being shot in the head!) and none knew the robbers.

But, the fact that noone knew these people does seem to go back to the 'random' theory.. If it was drug related, shouldn't one of the people have known something?

If it were a robbery.. You'd also think that they had to have cased the joint. Too smooth.. And who would think a bowling alley would have $4k in cash?

Every thought I can come up with on this I can contradict.

If it were a robbery.. You'd also think that they had to have cased the joint. Too smooth.. And who would think a bowling alley would have $4k in cash?

one of the workers said that she think she saw them in there before observing customers and daily operations of the alley, so it's possible that they were casing the place.

i agree that it's weird to assume that a bowling alley has $4k in cash, especially in the morning before they opened. night time after they closed would make more sense to me. makes me wonder if they knew someone who worked there and was tipped off about the money in the safe. could've been a paid hit

4k in the safe. 2k for each gunmen. makes me wonder if this was planned?

one of the workers said that she think she saw them in there before observing customers and daily operations of the alley, so it's possible that they were casing the place.

i agree that it's weird to assume that a bowling alley has $4k in cash, especially in the morning before they opened. night time after they closed would make more sense to me. makes me wonder if they knew someone who worked there and was tipped off about the money in the safe. could've been a paid hit

4k in the safe. 2k for each gunmen. makes me wonder if this was planned?

an attempted sextuple murder (plus one.. I have no idea what 7 would be) for $4k?

Someone would have had to be desperate.

Now, there's always the point that they didn't expect that many people to be there. But it seems 3 or 4 were pretty normal to be there at that time...

an attempted sextuple murder (plus one.. I have no idea what 7 would be) for $4k?

Someone would have had to be desperate.

Now, there's always the point that they didn't expect that many people to be there. But it seems 3 or 4 were pretty normal to be there at that time...

people have done worse for less. hit or no hit they still murdered all of those people for 4k. I wonder if it was supposed to be a deal of some sort, but the money was short so they shot those people out of retaliation to send a message?

I mean you walk into a bowling alley in the morning with the sun out with no masks on or anything obscuring your identity, and you decide to murder all of those people after they already gave you the money? shooting those people and then setting a fire seems excessive when all they had to do was wear a balaclava mask if they didn't want their identity out

I understand we have alot of senseless mass shootings in the U.S. that usually warrant no motive, but this seems like a robbery with the murder pre-meditated, that's why I wonder if they were working for someone or not. they came with two guns and accelerant to start a fire.

one of the victims said that she thinks that someone who worked there knew the two gunmen and I agree.

If there was just $4K in the safe, then it would almost certainly have to be drug related. Maybe the owner/his son had an unpaid drug debt, maybe he was siphoning off profits for himself........who knows.

Either way, this feels like one/both of them pissed off the wrong cartel folk and pissed them off bad enough to make money a total non-issue.

If there was just $4K in the safe, then it would almost certainly have to be drug related. Maybe the owner/his son had an unpaid drug debt, maybe he was siphoning off profits for himself........who knows.

Either way, this feels like one/both of them pissed off the wrong cartel folk and pissed them off bad enough to make money a total non-issue.

Yep. They were definitely trying to send a message with those brutal shootings. Too much effort and blood-shed for a simple robbery.

I think they came there to kill which is why they didn't wear a mask or obstruct their identity in anyway. Seemed like they were operating under the logic that wearing a mask doesn't matter because no one is going to be left alive to identify them, especially in broad daylight

I know Steve was the only son interviewed on camera. I think it was more the Dad and owner Ron Senac who owned the alley knew more than his sons or daughter or any of the victims

I know Steve was the only son interviewed on camera. I think it was more the Dad and owner Ron Senac who owned the alley knew more than his sons or daughter or any of the victims

This was in an article on Medium

"According to Ron Senac, he’d spent a lot of time with the police, trying to help them. However, the police reported that this wasn’t the case and they often had to track him down. Ron claimed he was treated as a suspect in the massacre and that the news’ reporting was incorrect, but there would soon be another death nearby and the two crimes had a common denominator: Ron Senac."

There was another murder at another bowling alley that Ron Senac had owned. I also find it highly convenient that Ron was out of town on a "golf trip" when the murders took place.

I know Steve was the only son interviewed on camera. I think it was more the Dad and owner Ron Senac who owned the alley knew more than his sons or daughter or any of the victims

In the documentary about this case, it was heavily implied that the murders were retaliation against Ron. Ron's coldness didn't help the suspicion around him. IIRC, he opened the alley just a day or two after the murders.

In the documentary about this case, it was heavily implied that the murders were retaliation against Ron. Ron's coldness didn't help the suspicion around him. IIRC, he opened the alley just a day or two after the murders.

Ron was skimming from/doing deals on someone else's turf perhaps?

Ron was skimming from/doing deals on someone else's turf perhaps?

The implication was that this was either some sort of "message" sent to Ron, or that Ron was involved in the killings (although I'm not sure what the motive would be) since he was out of town on the morning of the murders. They could never come up with anything concrete tying the murders to Ron. It was more just town gossip.

The reward for information was upped to $32,000 on February 10, 2022, which was the 32nd anniversary of these horrific murders.

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/crime/2022/02/10/las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre-reward-increased-32nd-anniversary/6704122001/

The bowling alley still stands. It changed ownership and names a few times before closing in recent years. Lamont At Large and McAndrew Travels visited the location and the graves of the victims.

QHVAKa-HBDU

TYPLpcmyp5M

This seems so easy to solve in theory. You’d think by now somehow someone would have talked

This seems so easy to solve in theory. You’d think by now somehow someone would have talked

One would think. though, I will say, the totally random crimes are the most difficult to solve.. I just don't think this fits. What are the odds of someone randomly picking this bowling alley to rob? As I mentioned before.. Who would think a bowling alley would have that much money in the AM?

If you or I were to travel to Bozeman, MO (I'm assuming that anyone reading this isn't within 300 miles of Bozeman) and kill a random person on the street. It's going to be very difficult in the absence of DNA for us to be caught for that.

I think out of all of UM’s segments, this one by far is probably one of their most grisly and horrific ones, especially considering they killed the youngest children there. its amazing how over 30 years have passed and no one has been found.

Does anyone know if there was more to this story than what UM told us?

I think out of all of UM’s segments, this one by far is probably one of their most grisly and horrific ones, especially considering they killed the youngest children there. its amazing how over 30 years have passed and no one has been found.

Does anyone know if there was more to this story than what UM told us?

Plenty - might check out this other thread (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=400032&highlight=las+cruces) for more

thank you— I didn’t see that there was another thread for this.

Ron passed away in 2024 and his behavior in regards to the case is shady and odd. Turns out, in 1995, Amy Houser’s mother Gloria Woods sued Ron for negligence and irresponsibility in preventing the crime from happening. During the trial Ron’s lawyers offered her $30,000 to close the lawsuit against him.

She refused, however Ron was found not guilty.

I still think the Senac family knew more than they let on.

I just read up on this case. The brother of the manager saw two men approach the bowling alley yet he couldn't identify them?

And Ida said the men were in the bowling alley before but she can't identify them?

Maybe they were not local men then?

This was in an article on Medium

"According to Ron Senac, he’d spent a lot of time with the police, trying to help them. However, the police reported that this wasn’t the case and they often had to track him down. Ron claimed he was treated as a suspect in the massacre and that the news’ reporting was incorrect, but there would soon be another death nearby and the two crimes had a common denominator: Ron Senac."

There was another murder at another bowling alley that Ron Senac had owned. I also find it highly convenient that Ron was out of town on a "golf trip" when the murders took place.

Didn't the suspects shoot his 34 year old daughter Stephanie Senac (who later died of the injuries in 1999), along with his Granddaughter 12 year old Melissa Repass?

It also should be noted that Ron Senac's son R.J. Senac, who worked at the bowling alley bar, as the bartender, was rumoured to be into selling cocaine. He died of a drug overdose in 1997.

The whole case is bizarre. The suspects got away with $5,000, but left money behind, so it does not sound like robbery was the main motive. IMHO, the massacre was a result of shady activity of the owner. Even still, the case should have been solved within the first couple of years. There are rumors that the killers were Mexican nationals, and fled to Mexico shortly after the massacre.

If these lowlifes shot those people because they were worried about identification, I can't understand why they didn't just wear masks. That's just common sense, especially since a lot of people thought they might be professionals, possibly even someone from a cartel. I understand also they appeared to be looking for something before taking the money, meaning they were likely there for something besides money.

Makes you wonder if they were there to get some kind of quick fix thinking there might be drugs there, and when they didn't find it just went wild and shot everybody. I found out in a documentary these guys actually fired many times and missed the victims a number of times before hitting them. I kinda doubt they were professionals if that is the case. That coupled with not wearing masks and that three victims survived makes you doubt.

Could they have been hopped up on some kind of speed or LSD, something similar to what the Manson family killers were on the nights of the Tate-LaBianca murders?

Either way, this is one of the most senseless, infuriating crimes I ever heard of. These guys should go straight to the chair if caught.

IIRC there was a rumor that someone who worked at the bowling alley was dealing cocaine, and the theory was these guys thought the bowling alley was where this person kept their drugs, so they went there to rip off the drug dealer. Which explains why they didn't take all of the money...they weren't there for money.

Today is the anniversary of the massacre. February 10th. How tragic that these shooters were never caught. :(