El Paso Times
El Paso, Texas
23 Apr 2006, Sun • Page 21
"It's too far," Sherrie Gibson, then 14, said when older sister Angela Irsay asked if she wanted to walk with her to pick up her new McDonald's uniform. "Fine, I'll go by myself," Irsay responded before walking out of their West El Paso home. It was about 9 p.m. Sept. 22, 1988. It would be the last time Gibson saw her sister alive. "I've regretted that," said Gibson now 32, married and living in Missouri as she recalled the start of a nightmare that continues with Irsay's unsolved slaying. Her body was found in the East El Paso Irsay desert on Jan. 8, 1989. Today, survivors will take part in the annual Crime Victims Memorial Walk at 830 a.m. at As-carate Park. Though Gibson won't be at the event, she shares the pain of losing a loved one to violence. "I feel like something is holding me back from going forward in my life," Gibson said in a telephone interview from Missouri. "It's always there. It's been more than 15 years, but it's fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday." Irsay disappeared a day shy of her 17th birthday, her sister said. A petite blonde who stood 5 feet 1 inch tall, Irsay made friends quickly despite just having moved to El Paso from Florida a year before her death. "She was a little wild," Gibson said. ' Irsay enjoyed going out, had a boyfriend and loved the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. "She's got a smile that it seems to meReminds me of childhood memories ," rocker Axl Rose sang on the band's power ballad "Sweet Child O' Mine" one of Irsay's favorite songs. The title now graces her sister's crypt, Gibson said. Irsay, who dropped out of school, had completed orientation for her new job at a McDonald's restaurant in West El Paso. Her family later received a $9 paycheck for a day's work, Gibson remembered. Irsay had forgotten the uniform she needed for the next day in her boyfriend's car and decided to walk from her home in the 500 block of Rubin Drive (off North Mesa Street by Festival Drive) to his home more than three miles away in the 4200 block of Ridge-crest (off North Mesa near Executive Center). Gibson last saw her sister walking toward North Mesa. Police said
flaying continued from IB t store clerk reportedly saw her at a 7-Eleven at North Mesa by Arg-pnaut Drive. I The disappearance was agonizing for the Irsay family. "It was cure torture every day," Gibson aid. "Deep in my heart, I had a fceling she wasn't coming back. I piew something bad happened because she would always call." ' On Jan. 8, 1989, a person hunting n the desert off what was the two-lane road that is now Joe Battle boulevard discovered a skull and ther bones scattered by animals, police said. Dental work confirmed t was Irsay. Gibson said that she feels police iidn't put enough importance on ler sister's death in 1989. ; "I feel her case wasn't that ..... (followed) because she liked to go out. They portrayed this :crazy partner that deserved what ;he got," she said, referring to a -rime Stoppers segment. But homicide detectives said that :clues are few that even the :cause of death couldn't be deter-nined. One possible clue is Irsay's ringed, leather jacket that was ncver found, detectives said. In 2004, Detective Michael Aman received the case when the Cold Case Squad was started. Detectives re-interviewed Ir-pay's boyfriend, who denied any involvement, Aman said. They re-interviewed the 7-Eleven clerk, now living out of town, and tracked down several friends, including One in jaiL "She had a very large circle of friends and acquaintances. We talked to a lot of people," Aman said. It is possible someone Irsay knew offered her a ride. 1 "The other circle we are looking 3t is the neighborhood," he said. In 1988, there was a "rough group" living in the area that is a mix of Apartments, public housing and single-family homes, he said, j And there is a third possibility. ! On Nov. 7, 1989, the skeletal remains of 33-year-old Frances .Yvonne Williams were found buried in a gravel pit about two miles west of where Irsay's body Was discovered, Aman said. Williams' "body was found off Zaragoza (Road). Now it's houses. It's somebody's back yard," he said. Police said Williams was last seen Aug. 22, 1988, at a bus stop near her Northeast El Paso home. "There is still the possibility it may have been the same guy who killed both of them," Aman said. Both cases remain among 70 unsolved homicides in El Paso dating ijack to 1966. Aman hopes the passage of time encourages people to speak up. As for Gibson, she remains flaunted by her sister's death. In C003 and 2004, their mother and father died without learning who killed their daughter, she said. J "I just felt it's time," she said. "If Jwmebody knows something, come forward. It's time to come forward DOW." i Daniel Borunda may be reached at ' dborundaelpasotimes.com; 546-6102
El Paso Times
El Paso, Texas
23 Sep 2006, Sat • Page 13
By Daniel Borunda El Paso Times El Paso
Cold Case Squad detectives are following a new lead in the slaying of a West Side teenage girl who disappeared 18 years ago Friday and who would have turned 35 today. Angela Irsay was a day shy of her 17th birthday when she disappeared while walking to her boyfriend's home in 1988. Her skeletal remains were found on Jan. 8, 1989, in the desert east of El Paso. Sherrie Gibson said the pain of losing her older sister is deeper on the anniversary dates of the unsolved crime. "It's very, very tough, especially now that I don't have my mother and father," said Gibson, I) Li Li Pi M Closer look The death of 16-year-old Angela Irsay has remained unsolved since her disappearance in 1988. Sept 22, 1988: Irsay left her home about 9 p.m. headed to North Mesa Street to walk to her boyfriend's home. Irsay's home was in the 500 block of Rubin Drive, off North Mesa by Festival Drive. Her boyfriend's home was more than three miles away in the 4200 block of Ridgecrest, off North Mesa near Executive Center. A store clerk reportedly saw Irsay at a 7-Eleven at North Mesa and Argonaut Drive. Irsay had a large circle of friends. It is possible someone offered her a ride. Jan. 8, 1989: A person hunting in the desert off of what is now Joe Battle Boulevard discovered a skull and other bones scattered by animals. Dental work confirmed it was Irsay. Source: El Paso Police Department r, 3 Irsay whose parents died in 2003 and was assigned the case in 2004 2004. upon the forming of the Cold Detective Michael Aman, who Case Squad, said new tips ar rived after the unsolved killing was featured in an El Paso Times article in April. "It did break something loose. We got a tip. We are working on that tip," Aman said, declining to provide details in order not to jeopardize the investigation. "It's a very old case, everything takes a little longer than usual." Irsay was a petite blonde who stood 5 feet 1 inch tall. She had dropped out of high school, made friends quickly and loved the rock band Guns N' Roses, police and family said. Irsay was last seen on the night of Sept. 22, 1988, on North Mesa Street as she walked to her boyfriend's home. Her boyfriend has denied any involvement in her death, detectives said. Aman and Gibson encouraged anyone who may know something about Irsay's disappearance to come forward because even a small bit of information can make a difference. "I'm hoping somebody has a heart, that knows something and comes open and comes clean," Gibson said. Anyone with information on the death of Angela Irsay may call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 566-8477 or the police Crimes Against Persons Unit at 564-7010. Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborundaelpasotimes.com; 546-6102. La Union Maze begins seventh year By Darren Merrtz
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El Paso Times
El Paso, Texas
14 Jan 1989, Sat • Page 7
REMAINS ARE MISSING TEENAGERS
Foul play suspected in East Side girl's death
By Joe Olvera El Paso Times
The skeletal remains of a young woman found Sunday in the East El Paso desert have been identified as those of Angela Irsay, 17, of the 500 block of Rubin on the East Side. The body was found near Interstate 10 and Americas Avenue. Police Lt. Paul Saucedo said the cause of death hasn't been determined because the body was decomposed. "We will send the bones to Dr. Gil King, a forensic anthropologist at North Texas State University. However, it's going East Side girl's death to be extremely difficult to determine the cause of death just from the remains," he said. Saucedo said Irsay was last seen alive Sept. 22, when she left her house at about 9 p.m. en route to her boyfriend's home. She was reported missing the next day by her mother and stepfather. "We're investigating this as a possible homicide because of the very suspicious circumstances," Saucedo said. He asked that anyone with information call the police Crimes Against Persons Division at 564-7010, or Crime Stoppers at 543-6000. teen - ager's r Angela Irsay, 17, was last seen alive Sept. 22
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The Tyler Courier-Times
Tyler, Texas
16 Jan 1989, Mon • Page 3
Third Body Found Near El Paso In Week EL PASO (AP) - Three bodies were found in the east El Paso County desert near Interstate 10 in the past week, but police say the deaths appear to be unrelated. The latest discovery was Sunday afternoon, when a transient looking for a place to rest discovered a human skeleton in a drainage tunnel under east-bound HO a mile east of the town of Fabens, police said. That grisly find came one week after the skeletal remains of 17-year-old Angela Irsay were found near HO in east El Paso. And on Thursday, a passerby found the body of a woman about five miles west of Fabens and 25 yards south of HO. Her killer bound her. shot her in the head and then wrapped a cloth over her head and set it afire. - No arrests have been made in any of the three deaths. The last two victims have not been identified, and police do not yet know the sex or cause of death of the body found Sunday in the drainage tunnel, detective Marvin Ryals of the El Paso County Sheriff's Department said. He added the body appeared to be that of an adult, "It looks like it's been there awhile," he said, adding that parts of the skeleton "were scattered around like they are when animals get to them." No weapon was found, but investigators intended to continue a search of the area today, Ryals said. Miss Irsay had last been seen Sept. 22, according to police. Her cause of death could not be determined.
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El Paso Times
El Paso, Texas
22 Mar 2009, Sun • Page 2
El Paso police cold cases
These homicides are being investigated by the El Paso Police Department's Cold Case Squad.
Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or any other crimes in the city may call the El Paso Police Department at 564-7010 or Crime Stoppers at 566-8477.
Dec. 24, 2003: Fernando Martinez, shot. Sept. 20, 2002: Camilo Esparza, shot. June 2, 1999: Sandra Luz Chacon, stabbed. Jan. 7, 1997: Leonel Vigil, shot. March 10, 1997: Guillermo Lujan, stabbed. Dec. 15, 1997: William Barfield, beaten. March 3, 1996: Alejandro Arredondo, shot. Feb. 7, 1995: Celia Loya, beaten. Feb. U, 1004: Bobby Joe Thompson, stabbed. April 12, 1994: Rafael Vasquez, shot. July 30, 1994: John Doe, burned. Aug. 11, 1994: Santoni family, stabbed. Nov. 27, 1994: Jaime Virchis Moreno, shot. Jan. 11, 1993: Jorge Hernandez, stabbed. March 18, 1993: Dahlia Alvarez, stabbed. Aug. 6, 1991: Rodolfo Acosta, shot. Jan. 8, 1989: Angela Irsay, unknown. April 9, 1989: Stephen Hicks, beaten. April 29, 1989: Humberto Pala-cios, beaten. Nov. 6, 1989: Francis Yvonne Williams, unknown. Dec. 24, 1988: Luis Miguel Al-varado, beaten. May 17, 1986: Ernesto Pineda, stabbed. June 8, 1986: Emilia Amador Vargas, strangled. Nov. 14, 1986: Fernando Aguirre, shot. June 8, 1985: Arturo Bastidos, beaten. Jan. 8, 1985: Freda Peters, strangled. Dec. 31, 1984: Floyd Williams, stabbed. April 29, 1983: Jesus Vasquez Tapia, shot. May 10, 1983: Carmen Roman, beaten. March 2, 1982: Miguel Zarate, beaten. July 1, 1982: Sue Anne Mecklin, unknown. July 17, 1982: Sergio Mendoza, shot. Oct. 24, 1982: Edward George, suffocated. Jan. 1, 1981: Robert Fierro, shot. Feb. 4, 1981: Clyde Jessie Jones, shot. May 21, 1980: Frank Gorman, beaten. May 25, 1980: Barbara Grijalva, beaten. Feb. 27, 1979: Nicolas Castanon, shot. May 18, 1979: Rodolfo Alejo, beaten. Jan. 9, 1979: Father James Payne, asphyxiation. Oct. 29, 1979: Tony Marshal Hudson, stabbed. Feb. 19, 1978: Sylvan Eugene Morgan, stabbed. March 20, 1978: Barbara Williams, stabbed. Aug. 15, 1978: Siman Ann Hughey, stabbed. Dec. 03, 1977: Maria Lara, run over. Nov. 26, 1S77; Janet Buniiia, strangled. Oct. 25, 1977: James Preston Wolfe, beaten. Oct. 16, 1977: Ramiro Alvarez, stabbed. Oct. 14, 1977: Jesse Torres, shot. Sept. 13, 1977: Antonio Vela, stabbed. Sept. 8, 1977: Carlos Villanueva, shot. Aug. 31, 1977: Quinne Newman, shot. July 11, 1977: Joseph Pickard, shot. Nov. 26, 1976: Jose Tarango, stabbed. Aug. 14, 1976: Jose Urquidez, shot. July 29, 1976: Louis Lozano, stabbed. June 3, 1976: Emerson Bowden, unknown. April 12, 1976: Sima Ann Warren, beaten. April 4, 1976: Manuel Fortes, shot. Feb. 11, 1975: Antonio Sifuentes, shot. Jan. 15, 1975: Doris Hundley, stabbed. Jan. 11, 1975: Jimmy Gilbreath, shot. Dec. 31, 1974: Ismael Macias, stabbed. May 4, 1974: Ernesto Calvillo, shot. Dec. 25, 1973: Vicente Saenz, unknown. Sept. 12, 1973: Susan Wilson, stabbed. June 20, 1973: Lucia Leyva, stabbed. Oct. 14, 1972: Arnulfo Carbajal, shot. July 20, 1972: Guadalupe Dominguez, stabbed. Aug. 31, 1966: Ruby Louis Stephens, strangled. Cold cases Continued from 1A leads and a lot of hard work by detectives will combine to solve the mystery. Sandra Chacon's death is one of 71 homicides being investigated by the El Paso Police Department's Cold Case Squad, created five years ago by then Police Chief Richard Wiles. Since the unit formed, three old slayings have been solved. The El Paso County Sheriffs Office is investigating more than 30 other cold cases. Most of the emphasis is on homicides from the 1980s or later, but the Sheriffs Office has reviewed cases as far back as the 1940s. In the past five years, it has solved one cold homicide. The oldest cold case being investigated by the city dates to Aug. 31, 1966. That was the day Ruby Louis Stephens, an 18-y ear-old pregnant housewife, was found strangled in her home in the 2500 block of Federal. The city's cold case squad has four detectives and investigates only unsolved homicides. No statute of limitations exists for murder, so a decades-old case could still be prosecuted. Last year, 18 homicides occurred in the city, 17 of which were solved. Because of such a high rate of success, detectives can use down time to work on older, unsolved murder cases. Detective Mike Aman said Stephens' slaying may be linked to two other cold cases the stabbing deaths of Lucia Leyva, 23, and Susan Wilson, 17. Their bodies were found three months apart in 1973. Stephens, Leyva and Wilson died on Wednesdays during full moons. All three lived at addresses that included the numbers 1, 5 and 4. None was sexually assaulted. Aman said detectives, when not investigating new homicides, go back to the cold-case files and reanalyze evidence. In the past five years, detectives have been able to uncover new leads on cases such as the death of Stephen Hicks, 23, whose body was found April 9, 1989, in the 1300 block of Don Haskins. Aman said Hicks might have been partying in a desert area known as Cherry Hill, where teens liked to gather on weekends to drink. Somebody beat Hicks to death, possibly after an argument or in a case of road rage, Aman said. He declined to discuss details, but said detectives were looking at physical evidence that might not have been analyzed before. Sgt. Jim Belknap of the sheriffs Crimes Against Persons Unit said he closely guards the details of cold cases, including one that occurred more than a half-century ago. That was the 1957 disappearance of W.D. "Pat" Patterson, a businessman, and his wife, Margaret. Although their bodies were never , Sheriffs Office cold cases The El Paso County Sheriffs Office declined to release a complete list of the 30 cold cases it is investigating. Instead, it offered the four homicides investigators believe have the highest probability of being solved. They are also reviewing a missing-person case that has gained international attention. Anyone with information is asked to call Crimes Against Persons at 538-2291, or sheriff's dispatch at 546-2280. Luann Torres-Lopez, 38, whose remains were found in March 2008 along a dirt road near Montana Vista. Relatives had reported her missing Sept. 3, 2007. At that point, she had not been heard from in almost a month. She was last seen in Montana Vista with a white man driving a white van. Torres-Lopez was known to frequent bars along the east side of Montana Avenue. Thelma Fierro, 14, who died after being shot on Aug. 8, 2007, while at a bonfire in a desert area off Starduster Street. About 100 other teens were at the party. She was a student at Del Valle High School. Vernice Colvin, 43, whose body was found Jan. 20, 2007, off Interstate 10 near the Clint exit. Colvin, a truck driver, was last seen Jan. 11, 2007, at the Petro Truck Stop on Interstate 10 East near Horizon Boulevard. At the time of her disappearance, she was traveling with John Welch, who worked for D.N.I. Trucking. A Hispanic man whose partly burned body was found Jan. 13, 2004, in the 7800 block of South Desert in Canutillo. Deputies believe the man was burned in an attempt to destroy any evidence or identification. He has yet to be identified, but might have been living or spending time in Canutillo and Westway. W.D. "Pat" and Margaret Patterson, who were reported missing Aug. 15, 1957, five months after they were last seen in El Paso. In 1984, investigators told the El Paso Times that they probably were slain. found and they were listed as missing persons, the Pattersons probably were slain. Sheriffs investigators said so publicly as far back as 1984. Police and sheriffs detectives said cold-case investigations often were hampered by the same problems. Said Aman, "The two most frustrating issues when looking into cold cases are either that witnesses pass away, or physical evidence was not collected by the original investigators or was discarded. I don't blame the investigators then because they didn't know about DNA technology." Belknap said in cases where DNA might have been left behind, detectives have resubmitted evidence for testing. "We're always looking for ways that new technology available to us may produce new leads for us to follow up on," Belknap said. Aman said items that could be breakthrough evidence, such as pieces of gum or strands of hair, might not have been considered important 20 years ago. "Nowadays, even if we have a root of a hair, we can link it to one specific person," Aman said. "We can get a complete DNA profile, which is just as good as a fingerprint." . At times, detectives must comb through every old name and detail when investigating old cases. Sandra Chacon's slaying is one of those. Aman said Chacon's brother contacts him every couple of months for updates. It's likely that Chacon knew her killer, given the fact that she died in her apartment and that no sign of forced entry was found. She had a boyfriend who lived in the same complex, but police cleared him in the case. Her estranged husband also was eliminated as a suspect, Chac6n's family said. "She had different circles of friends, so we're trying to identify everybody and eliminate them by physical evidence," Aman said. . To date, 30 people have been ruled out. Chacon's family members said they hoped Aman would be the detective to solve the case. For almost 10 years, the Chacons talked to several other police investigators, at times clashing with them, said Chacon's brother Victor Chacon. They once angered investigators so much that Chacon and his brother, Javier Chacon, were asked to provide DNA samples. The brothers obliged and were eliminated as suspects. But after speaking with Aman about their sister's slaying, they said, they felt more secure that the killer eventually would be brought to justice. "This detective has been very accommodating and helpful in keeping us informed," Victor Chacon said. "He actually goes out of his way to call us." Still, family members are haunted by Sandra Chacon's death. They hope witnesses exist and will come forward. "Ten years is a long time, but to us it's like it happened yesterday," Victor Chacon said. "You don't think time goes by too fast when this type of tragedy happens to you. It's a part of our life that's never going to go away. We'll take it to our graves, just like my mom did." The Chacon family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sandra's killer. Crime Stoppers of El Paso is also offering a $1,000 for the same information. Adrians M. Chavez may be reached at achavezelpasotimes.com; 546-6117.
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The Kerrville Times
Kerrville, Texas
16 Jan 1989, Mon • Page 6
El Paso desert yields third body •; EL PASO (AP) —
Three"' bodies were found in the east El'_; Paso County desert near Inter- ' state 10 in the past week, but , police say the deaths appear to', be unrelated. The latest discovery was Sun- •-'. day afternoon, when a transient \ looking for a place to rest disco-;, vered a human skeleton in a- drainage tunnel under eastbound 1-10 a mile east of the town . of Fabens, police said. That grisly find came one.," week after the skeletal remains-'! of 17-year-old Angela Irsay were'" found near 1-10 in east El Paso. ,And on Thursday, a passerby^ found the body of a woman about' five miles west of Fabens and 25 ; . yards south of 1-10. Her killer , bound her, shot her in the head'' and then wrapped a cloth over" her head and set it afire. No arrests have been made in • any of the three deaths.
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Austin American-Statesman
Austin, Texas
17 Jan 1989, Tue • Page 17
El Paso deaths appear unrelated after 3 corpses found near 1-10 EL PASO (AP)
Three bodies were found in the east El Paso County desert near Interstate 10 in the past week, but police say the deaths appear to be unrelated. The latest discovery was Sunday afternoon, when a transient looking for a place to rest discovered a human skeleton in a drainage tunnel under eastbound I-10 a mile east of the town of Fabens, police said. That grisly find came one week after the skeletal remains of 17-year-old Angela Irsay were found near 1-10 in eastern El Paso. And on Thursday, a passer-by found the body of a woman about five miles west of Fabens and 25 yards south of 1-10. Her killer had bound her, shot her in the head, and then wrapped a cloth over her head and set it afire. No arrests have been made in any of the three deaths. Two of the victims remain unidentified, and police do not yet know the sex or cause of death of the body found Sunday in the drainage tunnel, said detective Marvin Ryals of the El Paso County sheriffs department. The body appeared to be that of an adult, he said. No weapon was found, but investigators intended to search the area again today, Ryals said.
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