Father raises new west mesa memorial

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - The father of a victim in the west mesa murder investigation said Monday he set up a new memorial that can be seen far from his home.

"This is the first Christmas that all the families will know for sure that their daughters aren't coming home anymore," Dan Valdez said.

His daughter, Michelle Valdez, was four months pregnant when a serial killer murdered her and then buried her body on Albuquerque's west mesa. Police found 10 other women in the massive grave site after a woman walking her dog in February found a human bone.

The area had been scrub desert until its recent development for a residential subdivision.

Relatives of the victims placed memorials on the site, but the developer of the property, KB Homes, asked recently to have them removed because of recent vandalism and storms.

On Sunday Valdez decided to put the cross he made for his daughter 30 feet in the air above his home on Truman Street SE near San Mateo Boulevard and Claremont Avenue. It's strung with 300 clear lights.

"It made me feel good that I was decorating her cross," Valdez said. "That she is again back home."

So far police have identified 10 of the 11 women found murdered.

They've said they're looking at a handful of suspects, but won't go into any more detail except that some are dead. Some are alive, and some are behind bars, according to investigators.

The 10 women identified by medical investigators all disappeared in Albuquerque from 2001 to 2005 and have been described as leading risky lifestyles.