View Full Version : 14 years ago today, Bowling Alley Massacre


dynoguy88
02-10-2004, 02:19 PM
It was on exactly this day 14 years ago (February 10, 1990) That two cowardly robbers shot 7 victims in a Las Cruces, New Mexico bowling alley in cold blood - killing 4 and wounding the other 3.

14 years have passed and these two men still have not payed for this hideous crime. :(

Link -

http://www.statetostateunsolved.com/New%20Mexico/Steven%20Teran/steven_teran.htm

"Justice for Steven, Paula, Valerie and Amy"

After 12 years, the brother of Steven Teran cannot let go of the horrific events that took the lives of three members of his family that he so desperately loved. Steven's family has had to live with the fact that Steven, Paula and Little Valerie were executed in what has long since been dubbed the "Bowling Alley Massacre" in Las Cruces, New Mexico for absolutely no logical reason.

Steven worked at Las Cruces Bowling Alley and his wife was attending classes. This Saturday was no different for the family with Steven heading off to work around 8:00 am taking his two little girls along because the bowling alley had a daycare center the little girls could stay in while he worked and their mother attended her Saturday class.

Already inside the Bowling Alley were the cook, Ida Holguin (no relation), Stephanie Senac the owners daughter and manager, Stephanie's daughter Melissa Repass who was about 15 at the time and Melissa's friend Amy Houser who was 13. The two young girls were there to supervise the daycare that day. Unknown to Steven, he was walking right into a massacre that would scar the very souls of families for years to come.

Steven walked through the door with his two little girls right into the middle of a supposed "Robbery" in progress. One of the two robbers met them as they walked in and led them in the office where the other four women were lying on the floor. They were order on the floor and within minutes the two robbers shot all seven people execution style, started a fire on the desk then fled leaving all seven people for dead.

Steven, Paula and Amy died instantly and Little Valerie died on the way to the hospital. Ida, Stephanie and Melissa survived. Despite being shot Melissa got up and called 911 and tired to put out the fire.

When Emergency personnel arrived they found the office full of smoke and seven bodies. They immediately removed all the bodies outside. Although, emergency personnel were trying to save lives; in the process evidence was destroyed.

Las Cruces Police had never encountered an incident such as this and were not prepared to handle it although they put a tremendous effort into trying when this tragedy occurred.

The suspects (at the time) were described as of Hispanic or Latin race, the older one from his late 30's to early 40's, 5' 5", medium build about 160 to 180 pounds. The younger one was described in his mid to late 20's, 5'6" to 5'8" medium build, approx 190 pounds.

Many people have speculated about the owner's (Ronald Senac) business deals and the shady characters he was known to mingle with. He has been a suspicious character and many people described him as into drugs. He was known to spend his money foolishly and was always "out of town on business" unrelated to the bowling alley.

Ida stated that she "sensed" that the robbers did not have robbery as their primary motive, it was if they "were looking for something else before they went to the safe". Ida had also mentioned that some time before this incident she (and others) thought she had seen people who looked exactly like them sitting at a table and just watching everyone, not bowling, playing pool, or anything offered at the bowling alley.

The two suspects did not wear masks or gloves, and were seen by many running across a very busy street (Amador Ave) and alley way. They were seen by another bowling alley employee before he left the parking area, prior to the incident, outside the building. LCPD believes that someone may have sheltered them after the incident.

This tragedy has been covered on Unsolved Mysteries, America's Most Wanted and Montel. Despite numerous tips and possible suspects, nothing has ever been solved in this tragedy.

Steven had ask his brother long ago to take care of his daughters if anything ever happened to him, and although his daughters have passed on, he is still on a quest to "take care of them" and bring all of them justice.

Please if you have any information about this case, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, please contact Detective Mark Meyers with the Las Cruces Police Department.

gaf
02-11-2004, 02:22 PM
Thanks for posting this. I remember this one really well because it aired the same night as the Teresita Bassa segment. Up until then I could watch UM without problems, but from then on the show changed my life forever.

BTW, Las Cruces is a nice town in a beautiful setting, but whole time I was there all I could think was, "There were people killed at a bowling alley here."

dynoguy88
02-11-2004, 03:00 PM
Oh, you have been to Las Cruces? Did you actually drive by the bowling alley? My curiosity would have been sparked.

Of course, if I'm ever in a city where a segment from Unsolved Mysteries took place, I can't help but look around and think about that certain case. I live in Michigan and there have been a ton of cases that happened in Michigan so I have that oppurtunity more often than not.

gaf
02-11-2004, 03:58 PM
Yeah, I live in Kansas. The only UM segment I remember that took place here was the I-70 serial killer. That was big news around here at the time, and it still gets brought up fairly often. Otherwise nothing. Not that I'm complaining. Besides, I don't think a story about a missing combine would interest the show. That's about as exciting as it gets here, thank goodness. (A slight exaggeration, maybe.)

No, I didn't see the bowling alley.

I have, however, been to the bank in Noel, MO, where Dan Short, the bank president who was tied to a chair and thrown off the bridge, worked. I've also been across the bridge he was thrown from. What a brutal case. I've also been to Marfa, TX, where people have seen mysterious lights for centuries. (I didn't see them, dang it.)

mphs95
07-11-2006, 04:36 PM
dynoguy88, I know what you mean. I'm also from MI, and when I hit a certain town that I know has been featured on UM, I can't help but think, "That's where the so and so case happened"

dynoguy88
07-11-2006, 05:12 PM
dynoguy88, I know what you mean. I'm also from MI, and when I hit a certain town that I know has been featured on UM, I can't help but think, "That's where the so and so case happened"

Yep!

I drove past Coldwater a few years ago with my family on the way to a funeral. I kept thinking..."hmmm...this is where Dennis Depue murdered his wife on Easter Sunday several years earlier and buried that bloody blanket in the yard of an old abanonded school house."

Sometimes I think about driving around that area and looking for that old school house...if it is still standing.

kadrmas15
07-11-2006, 05:23 PM
I dont really know of hardly any cases here in Minnesota. I havent seen every UM episode either so there could have been a lot I missed. I remember the Gordon Weaver case where he murdered his wife and then set a fire in his house to cover it up and went on the run for a few years. Did they ever profile Jacob Wetterling on UM? Does anyone know of any other UM cases in MN? In the states surrounding me I know there was that case in SD, one of the people's names was Arnold. They crashed their car and there was three of them one like stayed at the scene and was rescued but Arnold and his girlfriend walked off and their bodies were found months later in two different states of decomposition! Creepy. I know there was the Kathy Bonderson case in SD and the Chad Mauer case in Wisconsin. Dont know if there was any UM cases in those states either.

NDAlum2003
07-11-2006, 06:40 PM
I don't believe they ever profiled Jacob Wetterling, but that would have definitely been a good one to profile. The Wetterlings have done a great job keeping the case active.

mphs95
07-13-2006, 11:48 AM
Yep!

I drove past Coldwater a few years ago with my family on the way to a funeral. I kept thinking..."hmmm...this is where Dennis Depue murdered his wife on Easter Sunday several years earlier and buried that bloody blanket in the yard of an old abanonded school house."

Sometimes I think about driving around that area and looking for that old school house...if it is still standing.

dynoguy, I remember driving by South Lyon a few months ago when I was coming back from NY and I remembered the John Burns case. Some thing w/ Hillsdale. Freaky! I wonder how many others came from MI that I'm brain farting on.

Arnold_OldSchool
09-05-2009, 10:02 PM
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_13267645?source=most_emailed

everybodylovesrs
09-05-2009, 10:32 PM
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_13267645?source=most_emailed

Great to see he's going to help keep the case alive.

browneyes106
09-06-2009, 11:40 AM
The documentary sounds interesting. I have a feeling Charlie Minn will do the case justice. The bowling alley massacre has been a very haunting crime for the Las Cruces area.

James T
09-14-2009, 08:45 AM
Charlie Minn- I remember that guy from WWF Superstars Of Wrestling in late 1994, he used to do the event centres to hype local shows- he was so bad they fired him after about 2 months or less. Wondered what he was up to.

slasherman
09-22-2009, 12:21 PM
One of the most unnecessary killings I can think of.

MegtheEgg86
09-22-2009, 02:40 PM
One of the most unnecessary killings I can think of.

Agreed.