D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
April
2008
Getting Away with Murder
The Land of Enchantment is also the land of unsolved murders, with more than 100 outstanding homicide cases since 1976 alone.
By Jeff Berg
New Mexico's long history of unsolved murders may have started with the killing of Esteban the Moor by the Zuni people in 1539. Esteban, who was probably the first black person ever to set foot in what was eventually to become New Mexico, was a slave at one time. In fact, he was a slave two different times — once in Spain, and again as a captive of American Indians in or around present-day Florida. Esteban is thought to have been originally captured in Morocco, and later purchased by a Spanish nobleman named Dorantes.
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Paula Moore's new book explores the unsolved 1949 murder of "Cricket" Coogler. |
In 1527, on an expedition to Florida, most of the men involved, including Dorantes, were killed during a storm at sea. Esteban and three others lived, but were captured and enslaved by a native tribe in Florida. They later escaped and made a remarkable journey from Florida to New Mexico, from which they were finally able to make their way back to "civilization" in Mexico. Esteban more or less became the point man for this small but hardy group; he easily befriended the Indians they encountered along the way, and was able to learn the various languages quickly and easily. Legend holds that he was seen as a sort of shaman by some of the native tribes.
Later, Esteban accompanied another expedition from Mexico, returning to present-day New Mexico. The Spanish party followed the Rio Grande, looking for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, which were rumored to be made of gold. Esteban used an elaborate ruse to keep most of his traveling companions behind him, since once again he was the unofficial leader of the trip, even though he was still officially a slave.
But Esteban the Moor made one fatal error: He carried a medicine gourd or rattle that was decorated with owl feathers. Upon reaching the Zuni pueblo, Esteban's "magic" wore off. The Zuni were distrustful of him, because in their culture, owl feathers signified death. After the Spanish were refused entrance to the Zuni pueblos, a group of warriors attacked and killed Esteban and the rest of his party.
He had indeed found the "cities of gold," but what was thought to be gold was actually sunlight that glistened and reflected off the rooftops of the seven Zuni villages. The greedy Spaniards sadly mistook this glow for that of buildings made of gold.
Technically, Esteban the Moor also earned the dubious honor of being the victim in one of the first unsolved murders in New Mexico. His Zuni killer (or killers), after all, was never identified or brought to Spanish justice.
Ever since that 16th century slaying, New Mexico has continued to be a hotbed of unsolved homicides.
So what is it about our fair state that leads to so many homicides, so many of which are never "cleared," as the cops would say? Hard to say, but here are some stats for you to consider:
In 2006, the state recorded 132 murders, which works out to 6.8 per 100,000 people. New Mexico's number of murders per year has stayed fairly constant in recent years; 1996 was a peak year, with 197 people slain. In 2005, the most current year for which comparable statistics are available, New Mexico had the sixth highest murder rate per 100,000 residents among all states, at 7.4. Only Arizona (7.5), Alabama (8.2), Louisiana (9.9), Maryland (9.9) and Nevada (8.5) surpassed us in per-capita homicides. We'd look better, though, if the District of Columbia were a state, since it checks in with an incredible 35.4 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2005, ahead of fellow non-state Puerto Rico, another homicide haven at 19.6. New Mexico is by far the least-populated of these high-homicide states, close only to Nevada, which boasts 2.4 million to our 1.9 million.
| For more on New Mexico Survivors of
Homicide, write 400 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 500, #27 Albuquerque, NM 87102 call (505) 232-4099 or toll-free (877) 700-8500 email info@nmsoh.org; or visit www.nmsoh.org The Silence of Cricket Coogler will be screened on Saturday, April 5, at 1:30 p.m. as part of the CineMatinee movie series at the Fountain Theatre in Mesilla, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 524-8287/522-0286. Admission is $4, $1 for Mesilla Valley Film Society members. |
Morgan Quitno Press, a major player in city and state "ranking" publications, puts Las Cruces at number 164 among US metropolitan areas in the murder rate per 100,000 people in 2005. This ranking puts Las Cruces (4.2 homicides per 100,000 folks) ahead of Omaha, Neb. (4.1), San Angelo, Texas (3.7), and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (3.5), but way behind Albuquerque (9.3) and Pine Bluff, Ark., which amazingly led the way at a Puerto Rico-like 19.6 murders per 100,000 Arkansans. (If it is safety you seek, head for Rochester, Minn., or Wausau, Wisc., where there were no murders at all in 2005.)
Not only do we have more than our share of murders, but a seemingly shocking number of New Mexico killings have never been solved. According to the Web site of the New Mexico Survivors of Homicide (NMSOH, www.nmsoh.org), an Albuquerque-based organization that works with families and friends who have lost a loved one by murder, at least 100 murders from 1976 through 2004 remain unsolved.
Admittedly, it's not unusual for someone to literally get away with murder. Nationally, according to one study, of the 16,137 murders committed in 2004, as of June 1, 2006, 6,035 had yet to be solved.
In New Mexico, NMSOH provides information about victims' and survivors' rights and about compensation through the New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission (and others), and also works to lobby for changes in the law such as reducing "good time" awards to convicted murderers. Between 1993 and 2005, according to the survivors group, 2,283 New Mexicans died at the hands of others.
The organization also works to help solve those 100 outstanding cases, noting, "The families of murder victims whose cases remain unsolved are suffering and we need to bring the criminals to justice." If you have any information on any unsolved violent crimes, NMSOH urges you to contact your local authorities. You can call State Crimestoppers from anywhere in the country at (800) 432-6933; you will remain anonymous.
Statistics aside, many of New Mexico's most notable homicides remain unsolved mysteries. For example, history buffs are well acquainted with the death of Colonel Albert Fountain, a prominent lawyer, soldier and politician, who lived in Mesilla for many years and was killed with his son Henry in early 1896 while returning from a trial in Lincoln, NM. Although two other prominent locals, Oliver Lee and Jim Gilliland, were charged and tried with the Fountains' deaths, they were found innocent, partially because the two bodies were never found. The crime still can result in hot debate among long-time area residents, and search parties hunted unsuccessfully for remains or clues as recently as 1997.