Buried body identified
Corpse found in Houck grave was elderly Las Vegas man

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

SANDERS — A body that was found in a shallow grave last month in Houck has been identified as an 84-year-old man from Las Vegas, Nev.

The body was identified as Ralph James Argenna, a retired disabled veteran, who is originally from New York.

Argenna's body was found Dec. 14 buried in a shallow grave about two feet deep, and four feet wide between two cedar trees. He was buried just feet from a residential road less than a mile from Exit 348, off Interstate 40. When officials arrived at the scene, the upper portion of his body was exposed, and his hands appeared to have been chewed off by animals.

"The face area (also) had severe damage believed to be due to animal activity," said Commander Travis Simshauser, Northern District Commander for Apache County.

Officials believe that Argenna was abducted, and died somewhere between Las Vegas and Houck. His body was transported to Tucson for examination.

"The Office of Medical Investigation is attributing the death to homicidal violence at this time, pending the autopsy report," said Simshauser.

Officials said Argenna was found wrapped in plastic with duct tape around his ankles. He was wearing a button up polo shirt with dress slacks, suspenders, and dress shoes. Officials said he still had jewelry left on him, and religious artifacts. Argenna also had two small boxes of toothpicks in his pocket that were from the Rio Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, which officials used to help track down his identity.

Officials also confirmed that there was a cross at the gravesite, made out of two cedar branches and a clothes hanger, but couldn't confirm any type of writing on the cross.

On Nov. 15, around 9:30 a.m., two male suspects were seen in a maroon, small-to-medium-sized van at the location of the grave and talked to local community members, asking where they could bury their dog.

"They took their time," said Sgt. Roscoe Herrera, Apache County. "What they did was bold."

The suspects also covered the grave with big rocks.

"It took some time to hide the body there," said Herrera.

Argenna was reported missing by his sister and friends on Nov. 15. He was last seen on surveillance video leaving the Golden Nugget Casino, where he frequently ate dinner, sometime after 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 14. Officials said the video shows him wearing the same clothes that he was found in when he was dug from the grave. Officials do have a motive, but are not releasing it at this time.

Simshauser said they were 99 percent sure they had identified Argenna three days after he was found, and authorities received dental records that positively identified him last Friday.

"Besides the two Caucasian males seen at the location of the body, we believe there are others involved in the abduction and murder of Mr. Argenna, and we believe we have identified them as well at this time," said Simshauser.

Officials are also awaiting results from the Arizona Department of Public Safety crime labs, and other state crime labs regarding physical evidence discovered during the course of the investigation. So far, officials have traveled to Washington D.C., New York, Iowa, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas to investigate the case. The cost to date is not being released.

"Sheriff Hounshell doesn't care about time and cost when it comes to protecting county citizens from violent crimes and bringing these criminals to justice," said Simshauser.

Apache County officials will be traveling to Las Vegas next week to continue their investigation.

Anybody who may have additional information regarding the case can contact Commander Travis Simshauser or Sgt. Roscoe Herrera at 1-800-352-1850.