The present serial killer

There is a new rumor on the street that we’ve heard from several different women: Supposedly, a serial killer is kidnapping women from gas stations on Wyoming Blvd. NE near the I-40 overpass and dumping their bodies on the side of the road.

This new rumor joins the ranks of others we’ve heard over the years about serial killers targeting women on the street.

Before this, there was one about the “Santa Claus” serial killer. He had a white, bushy beard and would kidnap women in his van to take them to the mountains.

The various serial killer rumors are all a little different, but they do share one common detail. In every story, the police know about the disappearances but keep them secret, purposely leaving the women on the street in danger.

Which is exactly what happened during the West Mesa murders. Almost 20 women went missing from the streets of ABQ between 2003 and 2006. 

While no one from the general public knew about it at the time, everyone on the street knew. And every police commander knew. Yet they did next to nothing about it. There was no warning to women on the street that they were being kidnapped. There was no task force formed or federal agency alerted. There was no plea to the public for information about the disappearances. 

The women on the street were not only abandoned by the police. They were purposely and systematically left to be eliminated. And the women know it. That’s why every current serial-killer rumor automatically includes mention of the police leaving women on the street in danger. 

The rumors — wether true or not — serve as a warning to new generations. And show that police betrayal has become a permanent part of the oral history for women on the street.