N.M.'s national headlines not good news

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Looking back at the headlines of 2009 in New Mexico it becomes clear that the state may be getting attention outside of the Southwest for all the wrong reasons.

Here's a sampling of stories that caught national headlines in 2009:

• The West Mesa Murders: At first, it was simply a story about a dog who found some bones on Albuquerque's West Mesa. It erupted into an investigation that unearthed the bodies of 11 women. Almost 10 months later, police still haven't made an arrest or named a suspect.
   
• Tiffany Toribio: She was the mother charged with smothering her own 3-year old son, Ty, and burying him in the sand at the playground in Alvarado Park. At first, the toddler found wasn't even identified. Within days, police arrested the boy's mother.
   
• Nun Murdered in Navajo Nation: Sister Marguerite Bartz, 64 was found murdered inside her convent on the morning of Nov. 1. Police later arrested Reehahlio Carroll, 18, for her murder.
   
• Father Accused of Shooting Infant Daughter: Police said Chris Rains, 22, held a gun to his infant daughter's head in front of the baby's mother and pulled the trigger. He said he did it because he didn't want his daughter to have a new father, according to the criminal complaint.
   
• Elizabeth Lambert: Lobo soccer player Elizabeth Lambert, fed up with the feisty play of a Brigham Young opponent, did some elbowing of her own and the committed the most famous hair-pull of the year. Lambert eventually broke her silence by talking to the New York Times and apologizing.