1974 killing a mystery
Cold case in Grants under investigation

State Police crime scene agent Warren Pershall wraps tape around a mailbox to block off a crime scene at 800 Melvin Street in Grants Tuesday. The scene was being investigated for signs of a 35-year-old homicide. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

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Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The case of a woman killed 35 years ago in Grants is right out of the “Cold Case” TV show, where law enforcement and forensics investigators try to solve crimes committed years, sometimes decades earlier.

An Hispanic woman, described as being between 17-20 years old, 5 feet 2 inches and 110 pounds, was killed at 800 Melvin St., Grants police have recently confirmed.

The victim had brown shoulder length hair on top, brown eyes, about 4 inches of blonde on the ends of the hair and was petite in stature, according to a police description.

Grants Police learned of the incident from a witness on March 2 and informed the Independent Tuesday, at the scene of the crime at 7:30 p.m.

New Mexico State Police crime scene investigators and three detectives from Grants Police were examining the house for possible evidence, even though the house has been lived in off and on during the previous 3 1/2 decades.
Police do not know the name of the victim, or whether she was a local resident or someone passing through town, Grants Police Lt. Maxine Spidle said.

Because police do not have much more information, the public’s assistance in this case is needed to help solve the crime, she said.

Gladstone Simmons, pastor of the Grants Seventh Day Adventist Church across the street from the house, said he has only been coming to Grants for the past eight years and did not know about any such incident so long ago.

A house at 734 Melvin St., immediately adjacent on the east side to the crime scene address, was not occupied and showed no evidence of anyone living there. There were no other houses or buildings close to the crime scene, just vacant lots.

Police detective Kevin Dobbs, the lead investigator in the case, said Grants detectives were working closely with the state police investigators to search the crime scene inside the house.

A search warrant was obtained Tuesday in order to allow police to search the premises.

Spidle said she expected the search for evidence would take several hours.

The victim also had a tattoo and jewelry, but a description of that information was not released by police because any information from possible witnesses and or suspects, will help police determine the identity of the victim.

A police artist’s sketch depicting what the victim looked like in 1974 was made by Bernalillo Police Detective Mary Barazas, Spidle said.

The sketch shows a young woman’s slender face with bangs across the forehead.

The house on Melvin Street is white stucco with green trim and a metal roof. It has large windows and is about 25 feet above the street. An asphalt driveway slopes upward to a single vehicle garage in the rear on the east side of the house.

Grants Police Detective Sgt. John Castaneda asked the public to call Crimestoppers at (505) 287-8400, because that line is manned 24 hours a day, every day of the year, through the regional dispatch center in Grants.

Crimestoppers calls are always confidential. The public is urged to call as soon as possible to help police in the ongoing investigation in the case.

Crimestoppers: (505) 287-8400.
Grants Police detective division: (505) 287-2985.
To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 285-4560 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.