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Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre

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Real Names: Steven Saenz Teran, Valerie Rose Teran, Paula Antoinette Holguin, and Amy Ailleen Houser
Nicknames: No Known Nicknames
Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Date: February 10, 1990

Case[]

Details: On February 10, 1990, cook Ida Holgun was in the kitchen of the Las Cruces Bowling Alley, preparing for lunch. In the main office, day manager Stephanie Senac was adding up the previous night's receipts. Stephanie's twelve-year-old daughter, Melissa Repass, and Melissa's friend Amy Houser were with her in the office. At approximately 8:20AM, a gunman appeared and forced Ida into the office, where his accomplice, the second gunman was already holding the other three hostage. The two men forced Stephanie to get them all of the money in the office. They took $4,000 from the safe. After that, the victims assumed that the gunmen would leave. However, for reasons unknown, the gunmen shot each of them in the head.
Around the same time, employee Steve Teran arrived with his two-year-old daughter Valerie and seven-year-old stepdaughter Paula. The gunmen forced them into the corner with the other victims. All three were also shot in the head. Before leaving, the gunmen set fire to a part of the bowling alley.
Minutes later, Melissa called 911. Police and paramedics soon arrived and began treating the seven victims. Steve Teran, his stepdaughter Paula, and Amy Houser were pronounced dead at the scene. Valerie Teran died at the hospital that day. However, Stephanie, Melissa, and Ida survived the attack.
Authorities questioned several witnesses in the case. Stephanie's brother Steve told police that he had driven past the bowling alley just minutes before the shooting. He saw two Hispanic men walking towards the front of the building. The older man handed the younger man a small briefcase. The older man squatted down and then looked at Steve as he passed by the scene.
Authorities are not certain if the murders were a result of a robbery gone wrong, or if there was another motive. Rumor is that the men planned to rob the place and were angry to discover so many people inside. However, it is possible the murders were drug-related. Ida is sure that she had seen them there before, analyzing customers and the daily operation of the alleys.
Ida is convinced that someone knows the men who committed these murders.

Suspects: No one has been identified in this case. The suspects are described as Mexican, but they spoke perfect English. The younger accomplice was described as a Hispanic male who stood at approximately 5'10", weighing 160-170 lbs. with dark wavy hair, a dark complexion, light colored eyes and a mustache at the time of the killings and no detectable accent in his speech. He was 29 to 30 years old (born approx. 1960 or 1961) at the time of the shootings.
The older suspect was also described as a Hispanic male standing at approximately 5'6", weighing about 140 lbs. and with thinning salt n pepper hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion; he spoke English with a slight Spanish accent. He was 40 to 50 years old (born approx 1940 or 1950) at the time of the shootings. Sketches of them are available, and there are two versions of what they looked like on February 10, 1990, and what they may look like today.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the April 25, 1990 episode.
  • It was also profiled on America’s Most Wanted and documented on I Survived. In the latter program, Ida was interviewed.
  • A movie recreation, "A Murder In Las Cruces," has been made documenting it.
  • The suspect sketches were created by Lois Gibson.

Results: Unsolved. Since the murders, the bowling alley was sold and first renamed Sun Lanes, and later, Ten Pin Alley. It has since closed. Despite an extensive investigation, the suspects have yet to be identified or brought to justice. The manager of the bowling alley, Stephanie Senac, passed away in 1999. Ida has reported that she still suffers from headaches and PTSD as a result of the attack. She still hopes that the case will one day be closed.
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