Reward offered in Edgewood home invasion murder
by DREW MIKKELSEN / KING 5 News
NWCN.com / Posted on April 30, 2010
EDGEWOOD, Wash. - A $1,000 reward is now being offered in the murder of an Edgewood man who was shot while protecting his family during a home invasion robbery Wednesday.
Pierce County detectives say the robbery that ended in the death of Jim Sanders has genterated a lot of tips from the public, but none of the tips have helped them find the killers. Detectives say a tip from the public will be the only way to catch those responsible.
Sanders, 43, was selling a diamond ring on Craigslist. A woman contacted the family, saying she wanted to buy it for a Mother's Day gift. The woman came to the home with three armed men wearing bandannas. The house was ransacked. The family was tied up and beaten up. Sanders was killed after he tried to defend his family, said police.
Investigators believe the same group of robbers hit a home in Lake Stevens last weekend. In that case, the homeowner was tied up and robbed after posting an ad on Craigslist for a big screen TV.
Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the case. All callers can remain anonymous. Call (253) 591-5959.
EDGEWOOD, WA: SEE SKETCHES OF CRAIGSLIST KILLERS...
http://www.nwcn.com/news/washington/911-tapes-released-in-Craigslist-home-homicide-92506054.html
Saturday, May 1, 2010
LAURA GARZA REMAINS ID'd: SEX OFFENDER MICHAEL MELE IN JAIL
Laura Garza's Remains Found: Michael Mele Seen Leaving Club Marquee With Aspiring Dancer Night Of Disappearance
JIM FITZGERALD / 04/26/10 / HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Remains found two weeks ago in Pennsylvania have been identified as those of an aspiring dancer from Texas who disappeared after leaving a New York City night club in 2008 with a registered sex offender, state police said Monday.
A DNA analysis confirmed the identity of 25-year-old Laura Garza of Brooklyn. She had moved to New York from McAllen, Texas, five months before she disappeared.
A group of ATV riders found the remains April 11 in Mount Cobb, Pa., several miles outside of Scranton, said Capt. Wayne Olson.
A watch described as one Garza was wearing when she disappeared was found on the remains, Olson said. Forensic experts will be brought in to examine the skeleton and determine how Garza died, he said.
"We've been in mourning since Friday, when the police told us," said a cousin, Isela Villalobos of McAllen, Texas. "It has been very difficult for the family. Laura's mother was expecting for her daughter to come in the door until that dream was shattered Friday afternoon.
"All we do is think of Laura. We have moments when we cry. We have moments when we laugh," Villalobos said in a phone interview from her restaurant in Mission, Texas. "Nothing has changed in her home in McAllen."
Garza left the bar on Dec. 3, 2008, with registered sex offender Michael Mele. He has been investigated but not charged in the case.
Mele is being held at Midstate state prison in Marcy, N.Y., for an unrelated offense. A board denied him parole in March, citing his "history of sexually deviant behavior."
READ MORE: LAURA GARZA FOUND, WILL MICHAEL MELE BE CHARGED?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/laura-garzas-remains-foun_n_552626.html
JIM FITZGERALD / 04/26/10 / HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Remains found two weeks ago in Pennsylvania have been identified as those of an aspiring dancer from Texas who disappeared after leaving a New York City night club in 2008 with a registered sex offender, state police said Monday.
A DNA analysis confirmed the identity of 25-year-old Laura Garza of Brooklyn. She had moved to New York from McAllen, Texas, five months before she disappeared.
A group of ATV riders found the remains April 11 in Mount Cobb, Pa., several miles outside of Scranton, said Capt. Wayne Olson.
A watch described as one Garza was wearing when she disappeared was found on the remains, Olson said. Forensic experts will be brought in to examine the skeleton and determine how Garza died, he said.
"We've been in mourning since Friday, when the police told us," said a cousin, Isela Villalobos of McAllen, Texas. "It has been very difficult for the family. Laura's mother was expecting for her daughter to come in the door until that dream was shattered Friday afternoon.
"All we do is think of Laura. We have moments when we cry. We have moments when we laugh," Villalobos said in a phone interview from her restaurant in Mission, Texas. "Nothing has changed in her home in McAllen."
Garza left the bar on Dec. 3, 2008, with registered sex offender Michael Mele. He has been investigated but not charged in the case.
Mele is being held at Midstate state prison in Marcy, N.Y., for an unrelated offense. A board denied him parole in March, citing his "history of sexually deviant behavior."
READ MORE: LAURA GARZA FOUND, WILL MICHAEL MELE BE CHARGED?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/laura-garzas-remains-foun_n_552626.html
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
LAURA GARZA: BODY IDENTIFIED, MICHAEL MELE STILL SUSPECT
Body of a Brooklyn Woman Who Vanished in 2008 Is Found
By RAY RIVERA
New York Times / Published: April 26, 2010
The authorities have identified skeletal remains found this month in a remote area of Pennsylvania as those of a 25-year-old Brooklyn woman who vanished in December 2008 after leaving a nightclub in Manhattan.
A man riding an all-terrain vehicle spotted the remains on April 11 in a wooded area near Mount Cobb, outside of Scranton.
The New York State crime lab in Albany positively identified the remains as those of Laura Garza and notified her family late last week.
The discovery has renewed focus on the police’s main suspect in the case, a convicted sex offender, Michael Mele, 24. Mr. Mele is serving a sentence of one to three years at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County for violating parole in an unrelated case.
Investigators are searching for anyone who may have seen Mr. Mele in the Scranton area around the time of the disappearance.
A forensic pathologist is expected to examine the remains to try to determine the cause of death, said Capt. Wayne Olson of the New York State Police.
Ms. Garza, an aspiring dancer who was the youngest of three children, was last seen leaving a Chelsea nightclub with Mr. Mele about 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2008. They were spotted later that morning in Mr. Mele’s silver Infiniti S.U.V. in Newburgh, N.Y., about 60 miles north of Manhattan, the authorities said.
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION? LAURA GARZA, MICHAEL MELE...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/nyregion/27laura.html
By RAY RIVERA
New York Times / Published: April 26, 2010
The authorities have identified skeletal remains found this month in a remote area of Pennsylvania as those of a 25-year-old Brooklyn woman who vanished in December 2008 after leaving a nightclub in Manhattan.
A man riding an all-terrain vehicle spotted the remains on April 11 in a wooded area near Mount Cobb, outside of Scranton.
The New York State crime lab in Albany positively identified the remains as those of Laura Garza and notified her family late last week.
The discovery has renewed focus on the police’s main suspect in the case, a convicted sex offender, Michael Mele, 24. Mr. Mele is serving a sentence of one to three years at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County for violating parole in an unrelated case.
Investigators are searching for anyone who may have seen Mr. Mele in the Scranton area around the time of the disappearance.
A forensic pathologist is expected to examine the remains to try to determine the cause of death, said Capt. Wayne Olson of the New York State Police.
Ms. Garza, an aspiring dancer who was the youngest of three children, was last seen leaving a Chelsea nightclub with Mr. Mele about 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2008. They were spotted later that morning in Mr. Mele’s silver Infiniti S.U.V. in Newburgh, N.Y., about 60 miles north of Manhattan, the authorities said.
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION? LAURA GARZA, MICHAEL MELE...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/nyregion/27laura.html
Monday, April 26, 2010
LAURA GARZA BODY FOUND: DNA POSITIVE!
Garza family gets grim confirmation of Laura's fate
By Oliver Mackson
Times Herald-Record - 04/26/10
TOWN OF WALLKILL — Nicolas Garza got the call about two weeks ago. A state police investigator from New York asked if Garza's sister, Laura, was wearing a Michael Kors watch when she disappeared in December 2008.
“I told him I didn't know if that watch was hers,” Nicolas Garza said Monday from his home in McAllen, Texas. “We looked started looking in Laura's things, and we found the case for the watch, and the watch wasn't there.”
At that point, Garza thought the chances were about “5 0-50” that the remains found in outside Scranton, Pa., were those of his sister, the youngest of Elizabeth Esquivel's three children.
By Monday, DNA test results made him 100 percent sure.
Now, said Nicolas Garza, ““We just have to gather enough strength for everybody that is with us. We know it's going to be a long time before we get what we want. I don't know how we're going to hold up. We've just got to be together.”
READ ABOUT THE FAMILY SEARCH FOR LAURA GARZA...
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100426/NEWS/100429707
By Oliver Mackson
Times Herald-Record - 04/26/10
TOWN OF WALLKILL — Nicolas Garza got the call about two weeks ago. A state police investigator from New York asked if Garza's sister, Laura, was wearing a Michael Kors watch when she disappeared in December 2008.
“I told him I didn't know if that watch was hers,” Nicolas Garza said Monday from his home in McAllen, Texas. “We looked started looking in Laura's things, and we found the case for the watch, and the watch wasn't there.”
At that point, Garza thought the chances were about “5 0-50” that the remains found in outside Scranton, Pa., were those of his sister, the youngest of Elizabeth Esquivel's three children.
By Monday, DNA test results made him 100 percent sure.
Now, said Nicolas Garza, ““We just have to gather enough strength for everybody that is with us. We know it's going to be a long time before we get what we want. I don't know how we're going to hold up. We've just got to be together.”
READ ABOUT THE FAMILY SEARCH FOR LAURA GARZA...
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100426/NEWS/100429707
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