Transcript

the las cruces bowling alley MASSACRE

From Georgia Marie · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 30 min · 5,543 words · 63 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "the las cruces bowling alley MASSACRE", an episode of Georgia Marie published August 13, 2025 (30 min, about 5,543 words). It mentions 28 people, works and ideas, including Las Cruces, February 10th, 1990, Las Cruces Police Department, Melissa Repass, 1990.

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Amy Howser, February 10th, 1990, Melissa Repass, Stephanie Senk
  2. – 10:00: Melissa Repass
  3. – 15:00: Stephanie Senk, Valerie Tran, Amy Howser, Ida Hogwin
  4. – 20:00: Anthony Tran, Fred Rubio, New Mexico State Police, Albert Garcia
  5. – 25:00: Ronald Senk, Toronto Sun
  6. – 30:00: Crime Stoppers, RJ Senic, Salvador Lozano

Notable quotes from "the las cruces bowling alley MASSACRE"

  • Wanted to talk about in 2025 because this year marks the 35th anniversary of this horrific terrible event. If you're not from the area in question, which is Las Cruises in New…
    about Las Cruces · at
  • Familyrun business owned by Ronald Senk with his daughter Stephanie Senk as the manager on the day in question, which was again the 10th of February, 1990.
    about February 10th, 1990 · at
  • To lead the man to the office where Stephanie is still counting up her receipts. Melissa and Amy were either still in there in the office hanging out with Stephanie or they'd…
    about Amy Howser · at
  • Literally in his arms, planning to stick them in the alley's daycare for Amy and Melissa, to look after. He had his three-year-old daughter, Valerie Tran, and his…
    about Valerie Tran · at
  • Small case. The older gentleman then squats down and looks directly at Steve as he's driving away. And so Steve was able to get a very solid description of them. His…
    about Steve Tran · at
  • Many lives as possible here took precedent. And the Las Cruis's police captain Fred Rubio admitted about as much in a statement. He said, Yeah, the crime scene wasn't preserved…
    about Fred Rubio · at
  • World in which the motive here was to kill four children. As you can probably imagine, there was a lot of attention on the bowling alley's owner in the aftermath of this…
    about Ronald Senk · at
  • Reward for information that helps identify the two men believed to be responsible. You can call Crimestoppers anonymously. I'll include the number in the description box or you can also go online to nmrimestoppers.org.
    about Crime Stoppers · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Melissa Repass — Person · Survivor · 3 mentions · first at
    Survived the 1990 massacre and made the crucial 911 call.
    10th, 1990, seven people were shot at a bowling alley, five of whom would eventually die. And the person who made the emergency call was a 12year-old girl. Back in 1990, Las…
  • Stephanie Senk — Person · Victim · 2 mentions · first at
    Manager of the bowling alley and victim of the massacre.
    Stephanie was in the office sorting out the receipts from the day before, just getting ready to open up. Stephanie was in the office with her 12-year-old daughter, Melissa…
  • Valerie Tran — Person · Victim · 2 mentions · first at
    Youngest victim of the massacre.
  • Amy Howser — Person · Victim · 3 mentions · first at
    Victim of the 1990 massacre.
  • Ronald Senk — Person · Owner · 2 mentions · first at
    Owner of the bowling alley, scrutinized post-massacre.
  • Ida Hogwin — Person · Victim · 2 mentions · first at
    Cook at the bowling alley and victim of the massacre.
    The cook, 33-year-old Ida Hogwin, was in the kitchen getting the food prepped for the day, and 34year-old manager Stephanie was in the office sorting out the receipts from the day before, just.
  • Steve Tran — Person · Victim · 2 mentions · first at
    Mechanic at the bowling alley and victim of the massacre.
  • Paula Hogan — Person · Victim · 2 mentions · first at
    Victim of the massacre.
    Melissa, to look after. He had his three-year-old daughter, Valerie Tran, and his seven-year-old step-daughter, Paula Hogan, who had the same surname as Ida, but no relation.…
  • Fred Rubio — Person · Law enforcement · 2 mentions · first at
    Las Cruces police captain involved in the investigation.
  • Anthony Tran — Person · Family member · 1 mention · first at
    Family member of victims, advocating for case awareness.
    None of them did. Anthony told the paper that he is still in contact with law enforcement. And whilst they don't tell him specifics in fear of jeopardizing the case, he did say there have been.
  • Albert Garcia — Person · Witness · 1 mention · first at
    Witness who heard gunshots during the massacre.
    22-year-old Albert Garcia, who was across the street at the time of the shooting. He said that he had heard about six or seven gunshots, but paid no attention to it until…
  • RJ Senic — Person · Speculated suspect · 1 mention · first at
    Speculated to have potential involvement in the crime.
    Just wanted to keep calm and carry on, just open the business, continue as normal, continue with life, maybe. There is also lots of talk online about Ron's oldest son, RJ…
  • Salvador Lozano — Person · Victim · 1 mention · first at
    Victim of a similar crime in Las Cruces.
    Gas station and then just left. Due to the very obvious similarities here, Salvador's murder was looked at in connection with the bowling alley massacre. But pretty much…

Companies & orgs

  • Las Cruces Police Department — Company · Investigative body · 4 mentions
    Primary organization investigating the massacre.
  • Crime Stoppers — Company · Support organization · 3 mentions · first at
    Offers rewards for information on the case.
  • New Mexico State Police — Company · Investigative body · 1 mention · first at
    Assisted in the investigation of the massacre.
    But we were trying to save lives. Soon, police cordoned off the bowling alley and waited for a team from the state department of public safety crime lab in Santa Fe to fly to…
  • Memorial General Hospital — Company · Medical facility · 1 mention · first at
    Hospital where victims were treated.
    Passed. 2-year-old Valerie was still clinging to life, but she was declared dead upon arrival at local Memorial General Hospital. Melissa, her mom Stephanie, and Ida were all…
  • US Customs Service — Company · Support organization · 1 mention · first at
    Provided support in the investigation due to proximity to the border.
    They knew this was way above them. And they called in the New Mexico State Police, the Army, the US Customs Service, and the US Border Patrol agents. Seeing as they were so…

Products & tech

Concepts & topics

Places & events

  • Las Cruces — Place · Core topic · 15 mentions
    Location of the 1990 bowling alley massacre, central to the true crime discussion.
  • February 10th, 1990 — Event · Incident date · 1 mention · first at
    Date of the bowling alley massacre.
  • 1990 — Event · Historical context · 5 mentions
    Year of the bowling alley massacre.
    Probably a story that you wouldn't have heard of before. But if you are from Las Cru's, this is a story that has hung over the city since the day it happened.
  • 35th anniversary — Event · Commemorative event · 1 mention · first at
    Marks the anniversary of the massacre, prompting renewed discussion.
    This is a story that only specifically I wanted to talk about in 2025 because this year marks the 35th anniversary of this horrific terrible event. If you're not from the area…
  • Chihuahuan Desert — Place · Geographical context · 1 mention · first at
    Desert near Las Cruces, providing geographical context.
    Sitting on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and just under 50 mi north of the Mexican border, Las Cru's Bowl was a familyrun business owned by Ronald Senk with his daughter Stephanie Senk as the.

Media & podcasts

  • Toronto Sun — Media · Media source · 1 mention · first at
    Reported on the case and the lack of DNA evidence.
    Confusing, a bit unclear as to whether or not they have any DNA evidence from this scene. An article in the Toronto Sun from August 2021 states the detectives do not have a DNA profile for the killers. They do have a lot of fingerprints.

Full transcript with timestamps

Hey. Hi, my name's Georgia and I talk about true crime and history on the internet. Today I want to talk about a true crime case I've had on my list to cover since the beginning of this year. This is a story that only specifically I wanted to talk about in 2025 because this year marks the 35th anniversary of this horrific terrible event. If you're not from the area in question, which is Las Cruises in New Mexico, this is probably a story that you wouldn't have heard of before. But if you are from Las Cru's, this is a story that has hung over the city since the day it happened.

In the space of just a number of minutes, on the morning of February 10th, 1990, seven people were shot at a bowling alley, five of whom would eventually die. And the person who made the emergency call was a 12year-old girl. Back in 1990, Las Cruis's Bowl was a popular bowling alley in the city of Las Cruus, which was the second most popular city in the state of New Mexico. Sitting on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and just under 50 mi north of the Mexican border, Las Cru's Bowl was a familyrun business owned by Ronald Senk with his daughter Stephanie Senk as the manager on the day in question, which was again the 10th of February, 1990.

The staff started to arrive that morning around 8:00 a.m. There was a youth bowling league coming in at 9:00 a.m. with 40 kids in total, so they had to make sure they were ready for the day. The cook, 33-year-old Ida Hogwin, was in the kitchen getting the food prepped for the day, and 34year-old manager Stephanie was in the office sorting out the receipts from the day before, just getting ready to open up. Stephanie was in the office with her 12-year-old daughter, Melissa Repass, and Melissa's friend, Amy Howser, who was 13. and they were also working that day in the alley's daycare. Now, obviously at 12 and 13 years old, the girls were way too young to be officially employed by the bowling alley, and this is a question that would come up later in the investigation, but Melissa was the owner Ronald's granddaughter. I have no doubt this was just a little bit of cash for helping out with the family business,

which still isn't necessarily legal, but hey, it was 1990 and Melissa was family. I used to help out at my family's business as a teenager. Like this kind of thing happens. I assume they weren't the only ones due to be supervising the kids in the daycare that day, but I couldn't find out for sure. I don't think at 12 and 13 years old they were going to be left alone, but maybe they were. I don't know. Now, each source I read gave a slightly different version of events as to what exactly happened next, but the next half an hour goes something like this. At 8:20 a.m., Ida, who was still prepping food in the kitchen, is shocked when a man walks in and swiftly pulls out a 22 caliber pistol and aims it at her. She is forced to lead the man to the office where Stephanie is still counting up her receipts. Melissa and Amy were either still in there in the office hanging out with Stephanie or they'd been at the

vending machine getting snacks when they were also apprehended by a man with a gun and forced towards the office. Now, once all four of them were in the office, the men repeatedly asked them where the money was kept, and Stephanie directed them towards the safe and even helped them open it. All four victims were told repeatedly to keep their heads down to lie down on the floor. And Stephanie was sure that this was just your regular hold up. These men would take the money, take any valuables, and then just leave. But that isn't what happened.

Seconds later, 26-year-old Steve Tran turns up for his shift as the alley's mechanic. Now, he hadn't been able to get a babysitter that day for his daughters, so he turned up with them literally in his arms, planning to stick them in the alley's daycare for Amy and Melissa, to look after. He had his three-year-old daughter, Valerie Tran, and his seven-year-old step-daughter, Paula Hogan, who had the same surname as Ida, but no relation. As soon as they turned up, the three of them were also coralled into the office with everyone else. This is a three-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl. Soon enough, the men finished ransacking the office. They took all of the money they could find, about $5,000. And some sources also report that they went through all of the filing cabinets. They looked pretty much anywhere they could in case there was money or something of mry value hidden away. It seemed like maybe they were

looking for something specific, but we don't know. Now, like I said before, Stephanie was sure that they would finish ransacking the office. They would take all the money they could find, and then they would just leave, leaving them alive, but with some pretty serious trauma. But that is not what happened. Once they were done, the men shot each person in the office in the back of the head at point blank range. It was execution style. There were four children in that office. I can't even imagine how cold-hearted you have to be to do such a thing. And actually, the most disturbing part of this case is that 2-year-old Valerie was the only person not shot in the back of the head.

She was shot in the forehead. The perpetrator was looking at her, possibly even holding her when he shot her. She was 2 years old. And the question is, was this their plan all along? Were they going to always execute everyone? So, there was no witnesses. So, there was nobody who could identify them. But a 2-year-old couldn't identify anyone. And if this was their plan the entire time to kill everyone to leave no witnesses, why would they not do that first before they ransack the office? Then they don't have to worry about keeping everyone in control whilst they search. They could have just searched in peace. Or why not just wear a balaclava or a mask to avoid being recognizable in the first place?

The decision to shoot these victims in their heads in such a horrific way feels like something that could have been so easily avoided. But no, these men decided to do this. They stored away about $5,000 worth of cash and personal checks. They shot everyone. And then in what seems like one bizarre final attempt to cover up the evidence, they set fire to some papers on the desk before fleeing the scene. But one thing they didn't do was stop to check that everyone was dead because they weren't. As soon as the coast was clear, 12-year-old Melissa literally with a gunshot wound to her head and her feet made her way to the nearest phone and called 911 at 8:33 a.m. I'm going to play you a recording of her 911 call here, but please be warned that this is not an easy listen. Like the pure strength of this young girl astounds me.

She saved not only her own life but two others as well. If you don't wish to listen to this call, I'll put a time stamp on the screen of where to skip to now, but it's about four minutes long.

Emergency, please help me. Well, slow down. Slow down. We were all shot and hold up.

Okay. Where are you at? One Eastorus Bowl. Lost Cruus Bowl. Yes. Okay. And there was there were shots fired?

Yes. All of us were hurt. Huh? All of us were hurt. I think I'm the only one conscious.

All of you were hurt. Okay, we're getting the ambulance rolling. Please. Okay. What's your name?

Melissa Repass. Please hurry. Okay, Melissa. We've got him dispatched. Did you see who did it?

No, sir. They told us all to get down. They shot me five times. Okay, we'll get them rolling. Melissa, just hang on. Take a deep breath. Patrol units in route. How many people are hurt?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Seven people are hurt. Yes, I think I can. Hurt. Okay. Okay, Melissa.

It hurts. It hurts. Okay, Melissa, I've got an ambulance and I've got the police officers in route. They'll be with you just shortly.

Okay. Okay. You didn't see what any of the men were wearing? Money. You didn't see what any kind of the men were wearing or anything?

No. Nothing. They just walked in. Uhhuh. Do you know if they were black men, white men?

Black men. They're both black. Two black men. Yeah. Okay. No, they've left. Two black male.

Please. Okay. Okay. It's okay, Melissa. There's a fire, too. There's a fire right on the desk. They're going to burn us up.

Are the men still there? I don't know. You don't know? I don't know. They put us in the office.

They put you in the office? Yes. I need a fire engine, too. Please help me. Two. Okay. Melissa, she said they locked them in the office. She doesn't know if they're still there or not.

The door is open. There's a fire. It's on Amador. Yes. Smell smoke, Melissa. Yes, I can see it.

Okay. Can I get the fire extinguisher? Fire department, too. Yes. She says she smells smoke. They may have lit the building on fire.

No, it is on fire. It is on fire. It is. Okay. Melissa, can I go get by utility one? Oh. Ow.

Okay, Melissa, we've got him coming, hun. We've got him coming. I'm calling my mommy.

Okay, Melissa, there's a police officer there now. Okay, there is. Yes, there is. He's going to try and find you.

We're in the office. Just come and have 33 traffic. Oh my god. Okay. Hold on, Melissa. We've got the ambulance coming. They're just down the street. Huh? She advises all seven are shot. They're injured. They're in the office. Where's the office at, Melissa?

In the door to the front desk, and then you take a right, and we're right in the building.

Okay. She says you go in to the first desk, take a right, and they're right there at the office.

Okay. I'm giving the directions on how to get to you to the police officers that are there.

Oh my god. Please help me. They're helping you, Melissa. We've got them rolling.

Okay. You got to be brave. Got to be strong now. Okay. Oh god. It's going to burn us right now.

Okay. Can you see flames? Yeah. Okay. It's burning us. Okay. Oh, I got bullets in my feet.

Okay. The bullets in my head. You b the bullets in your head, too? All of you. I can't. None of them are cocky.

I'm still Go ahead. I hear the officers telling you to get out. Get out. There's somebody else.

Was that the police officer telling you to get out? Then get out. Okay. Okay. So, as you heard or didn't hear on this 911 call, Melissa was shot five times. And at the time of making the call, she was the only one conscious. and undoubtedly in a lot of pain. It was probably just pure adrenaline getting her through. She was able to stand very strong in her conviction. She tells the 911 operator that there's a fire. And when he reports over the radio that there might be a fire, she bites back at him and says, "There is a fire. Not there might be. There is a fire." And within 2 minutes, there's an officer at the bowling alley. She's able to tell the operator how to direct the officer straight to them in the office to turn right at the front desk. Imagine being shot in the head and being able to have the presence of mind to be able to do that. She is certainly the strongest 12-year-old girl that I have ever heard

of in my entire life. I couldn't deal with a situation like that. And I'm 31 years old. She was 12. As you might expect, with all these stress and the trauma, Melissa either wasn't able to get a good look at the attackers or she couldn't really remember the details about them. She described them to the 911 operator as black men. However, luckily, there were other witnesses at the scene who were able to provide a more detailed description of these men. They weren't black. At 8:15 a.m., so just minutes before the attack started, Stephanie's brother Steve had stopped by the bowling alley for just a few minutes on his way to school. he needed to pick up a backpack or something and he was leaving at the time the perpetrators turned up. He would later report seeing two Hispanic men walking from the back of the building to the front, describing how the older looking one handed the youngerl looking one something in a

small case. The older gentleman then squats down and looks directly at Steve as he's driving away. And so Steve was able to get a very solid description of them. His description, along with a couple of other eyewitness descriptions, led to the police making two very detailed composite sketches of these men. Suspect number one was described as 29 to 30 years old, 5' 10, 170 lb, with dark wavy hair, light eyes, and a dark complexion. Survivors describe him as speaking English with no hint of an accent. Suspect number two was older. He was 40 to 50 years old, 5'7, 140 lb with thinning salt and pepper hair. He had brown eyes and also a dark complexion.

He spoke with a slight Spanish accent. Melissa described these men as black. However, it is much more likely that they were Hispanic with dark complexions. As you know from the 911 call, police arrived at the scene within just a couple of minutes and the fire service and paramedics arrived soon after. And you can imagine there was all just absolute chaos in the effort to put out the fire to get people out of the office and to save their lives. Not much care was taken in preserving this crime scene. And whilst that should always be a priority at any crime scene, saving as many lives as possible here took precedent. And the Las Cruis's police captain Fred Rubio admitted about as much in a statement. He said, "Yeah, the crime scene wasn't preserved very well, but we were trying to save lives." Soon, police cordoned off the bowling alley and waited for a team from the state department of public safety crime lab in

Santa Fe to fly to Las Cruuses to run forensics. But of course, as we know, little could be gleaned. It had been so contaminated by so many emergency responders on the scene. First responders did what they could to save the lives of the victims, but sadly by the time they'd arrived, three people, Steven, Paula, and Amy, had already passed. 2-year-old Valerie was still clinging to life, but she was declared dead upon arrival at local Memorial General Hospital. Melissa, her mom Stephanie, and Ida were all taken to the intensive care unit, and they all managed to survive. How would you survive gunshot wounds to the head is beyond me. I can't imagine the fight they had in them. But Stephanie sadly did die 9 years later in 1999 from complications related to the injury she received that day. So although four people died on the day, five people died in total. And in the nine years that she survived, Stephanie suffered with

horrific PTSD. The police who arrived at the scene did what they could in the immediate aftermath of this crime. They canvased the neighborhood for witnesses. And in doing so, they talked to 22-year-old Albert Garcia, who was across the street at the time of the shooting. He said that he had heard about six or seven gunshots, but paid no attention to it until police and fire trucks started turning up at the bowling alley. Now, I must admit, when I first heard this, I was like, what? Like, how can you hear six or seven gunshots and ignore it? Like, were shootings this common in Las Cruises at this time? Was it just a part of being in the city that you just stayed out of other people's business? Or does your brain try and protect you from assuming the worst? I was judging Albert hard whilst I was researching this. But then the other day I was sat on my sofa and I heard gunshots. And then I realized I hear

gunshots all the time. I live basically in the countryside. There's lots of green space around us. And people go out clay pigeon shooting really often. I sit on my sofa and I hear gunshots every Saturday morning. And never do I assume that it's anything nefarious. But what if one day it was? Then again, I live in the UK. Guns aren't legal here. You've got to have a license to own them for them to be legal. When you hear a gunshot in the area in which I live, it's very safe to assume it's being used for hunting. But when you hear a gunshot in the USA, especially in a city, is it safe to assume it's being used for less sporty, less hunting purposes? So, when it comes to that, I'll be fascinated to hear from Americans in the comments.

Like, what are your thoughts about this? If you heard six or seven gunshots across the street, what would you do? Not that Albert could have done much to help, like he couldn't go back in time and stop the gunshots. He couldn't rush in and help because he would have died himself. But maybe he could have called 911, got placed there sooner. I don't know. I can imagine there's a part of the brain that's like, "Oh, yeah, I did hear that, but I'm just going to ignore it." Like self-preservation. Almost immediately upon seeing this scene, the Las Cruis's police called him back up.

They knew this was way above them. And they called in the New Mexico State Police, the Army, the US Customs Service, and the US Border Patrol agents. Seeing as they were so close to the border, they sent out helicopters and planes to search from the sky. Eyewitnesses had noted seeing the men driving an older model van or utility vehicle, maybe like car key green in color. So, they were searching from the sky for this car. Roadblocks were set up shortly after the 911 call was made at 8:33 a.m. in the hopes of catching the perpetrators, but they had no success and they were taken down by 2:30 that same afternoon. The perpetrators were either long gone or they' taken themselves into hiding very successfully. In a statement, Las Cru's police captain Fred Rubio said to the Gazette, "What we have here is a very vicious crime, the assassination of kids. A whole family was assassinated.

According to a preliminary investigation, they were rounded up and taken into the office. They were concentrated in one area and shot in one area." He told the press the suspective motive at this time was robbery and they apparently decided to rid themselves of any witnesses, including a three-year-old girl. He said that large amounts of cash were missing from the scene. So, it certainly does seem like robbery was a motive here. But was it the only motive? Was it a red herring? It's now been 35 and 1/2 years since this massacre and there are still no answers as to the motive. Anthony Tran, whose brother Steven and two nieces were killed, said to the L Cruz's son, news in February of this year, 2025.

It takes a real toll bringing up the case every year, but I want to keep the memory alive and keep hope, but it's hard to continue after 35 years. I still want people to keep the case in the back of their minds. It's one of the worst unsolved cases in America that includes kids. My nieces didn't deserve this. None of them did. Anthony told the paper that he is still in contact with law enforcement. And whilst they don't tell him specifics in fear of jeopardizing the case, he did say there have been many leads over the years, even as recently as just a year and a half ago.

It's important to keep talking about this case. It's important to keep it in the media and in the forefront of people's minds because there is always a chance that these cases can get solved. I know it's been 35 years, but that doesn't mean it's completely cold. This case may remain unsolved, but is still under active investigation by the Les Cru's Police Department. It is a bit confusing, a bit unclear as to whether or not they have any DNA evidence from this scene. An article in the Toronto Sun from August 2021 states the detectives do not have a DNA profile for the killers. They do have a lot of fingerprints.

There's also a quote from Las Cru's detective Amador Martinez stating some months we just get numerous tips and there's really no telling why or what the reasoning is why people come forward but they do so in random months I'll get inundated with them and some months are a little lean the advent in technology the difference in technology is at our disposal we just have to find the right piece that will fit into that mold that will fit into this new DNA technology this new genealogy tree we can use. We just have to find that piece. And I'm positive we have it. I just haven't found it yet. And this is a quote which just has me questioning. Like, do they have DNA, but haven't been able to form a full DNA profile. Like, I think that's what they're saying, but it's very unclear. it. To me, this seems like they do have some DNA, but they're just waiting for the DNA tech to get advanced enough to be able to read the small

amount of likely degraded DNA that they have. That is me reading between the lines, but it seems promising. I think like they're not waiting for new DNA evidence to come in. Like, there's no way they're going to find new DNA evidence now after 35 years. So, it only seems right. They do have some DNA on file, but the tech just isn't advanced enough as of yet or they can't afford to get it properly. I don't know. But to me, that's what it reads like. And we very much know in this true crime community that as long as there's even the tiniest bit of DNA, there's a chance you could get answers. There's always that chance. An updated sketch was made in 2005 to reflect 15 years of the suspect's aging, but at that time it didn't lead to anything new. Of course, we're now another 20 years on from those age sketches, so they don't mean that much now. Nowadays, the men are likely in their late 60s, early 70s, and late

50s, early 60s, respectively. And despite 35 years investigation, they've never been caught. They've been able to live their lives probably for 35 years, where the victims, they didn't. I don't even know if the police have ever even gotten close in this case. The general train of thought online seems to be that these men, these criminals were kind of flying by the seat of their pants. This was a wild crime to be willing to murder or attempt to murder seven people and set fire to the place to presumably get rid of any evidence but not go to the simple stretch of wearing a mask. Like it's wild. Was this crime just an unplanned lastminute decision? Did they just see the bowling alley and decide to go in? Maybe all of this maybe points to disorganized criminals. Criminals who probably would have ended up getting caught for another crime at some point in time. Criminals who may already be in

prison for something else who or who ended up dying either by their own hand or someone else's hand. There's always been a lot of questions over their motive. Like was this a straightforward robbery or was the robbery meant to be a distraction? Was it a red herring? Was the murder the motive all along? And there's no way really of knowing until the men are caught or until that one big tip comes in. But I can't imagine any world in which the motive here was to kill four children. As you can probably imagine, there was a lot of attention on the bowling alley's owner in the aftermath of this, Ronald Senk. He was the father of Stephanie and the grandfather of Melissa. And they did both somehow survive. Ronald hadn't been in Las Cru's on the day in question.

He'd actually been on a golfing trip in Tucson, Arizona. There was a lot of speculation about Ron and his actions in the days after. There were plenty of eyebrows raised when he reopened the bowling alley just one week after the massacre. I can barely imagine that the police would have finished cleaning the scene by that time by one week later, but apparently they had. People wondered why he would reopen so quickly. Like, was he trying to distract? Was he trying to cover something up? Was this all maybe an insurance scam gone wrong? Of course, Ron was thoroughly investigated by the police and they never found any evidence that he had knowledge or any involvement in this crime or that he was involved in any sort of criminal activity at all. He was known to be not so great with money. He spent quite recklessly and there were some rumors around town that he was maybe involved in some sort of illicit activity, but

police were never able to find any evidence of this. Still to this day, there is plenty of speculation online about Ron and about his potential involvement in this crime. But it is just that it's speculation. There is literally no evidence of anything. Police never found a single thing. Plus, it's not out of the question. This was just a random attack on a random bowling alley, a business that would have been a very easy target for criminals. Why did Ron decide to open up the bowling alley again just one week later? It could simply be that he wasn't thinking clearly, that he had been through trauma even though he wasn't there. It's very traumatic for this to happen to your daughter, to your granddaughter, to your employees, to your business. Maybe he just wanted to keep calm and carry on, just open the business, continue as normal, continue with life, maybe. There is also lots of talk online about Ron's

oldest son, RJ Senic, having something to do with it as well. He was a bartender at the bowling alley. This was a very familyun business. But on the day in question, he was not in. He wasn't in the building. And it was rumored that he had a bit of a cocaine problem. Sometimes he even held drug deals at the alley. Again, this is all internet speculation. I'm not saying this is true. Once again though, investigators did look into R.J. and they couldn't find any connection between him and the crime and he sadly died of a drug overdose in 1997.

There are some trains of thought that perhaps the criminals were there looking for drugs that day as well as money. Remember, they were going through the filing cabinets and all the drawers. They were looking all sorts of odd places, presumably for money, but maybe for drugs as well. It might be true. There's no way of knowing. However, it does strike me as strange that the perpetrators, if they were looking for money, would strike this bowling alley before opening. Like, if you want maximum money in this time when transactions were all cash, you would surely strike at closing before the money is taken to the bank for the day.

You can get maximum cash that way. Again, this could just be because this was all very disorganized. Maybe it was just a spur-of-the- moment thing, or it could have been something deeper. They were looking for something that wasn't cash. From what I've read online in all the forums, etc., it does appear that most locals in Las Cru's do believe this was cartel related, but rumors don't often equal truth. There was another similarish crime in Las Cru's just one month before this. A 32-year-old man called Salvador Lozano who was a gas station worker was murdered at work on January 14th, 1990.

He was approached at Ray Shell service station. His hands were tied behind his back and then he was murdered with a single bullet into the back of his head execution style in the office. This was also around 8:00 a.m. and his body was found by two customers at 10:00 a.m. Clearly, the method of murder here was very similar, although none of the bowling alley victims were bound in any way. The perpetrator stole $500 from the gas station and then just left. Due to the very obvious similarities here, Salvador's murder was looked at in connection with the bowling alley massacre. But pretty much immediately, investigators decided that there was no connection here. But Salvador's death still hasn't been solved either, and his widow gave birth to a baby girl just 2 days later. His daughter had to grow up without her dad. Articles I found from 2015 state that Les Cruz's Crimestoppers are offering a $2,000 reward for any

information that helps identify the person or persons who killed Salvador. I don't know if that reward is still in place. I hope it is, but I'm going to tell you here. As for the bowling alley massacre, Las Cruz says Don Anna County Crimestoppers are offering a $25,000 reward for information that helps identify the two men believed to be responsible. You can call Crimestoppers anonymously. I'll include the number in the description box or you can also go online to nmrimestoppers.org. It has now been 35 and a half years since this crime. But that doesn't mean there's no hope here. I really hope the DNA evidence I mentioned earlier does eventually come through for investigators. We have seen cases a lot colder than this one get solved through DNA. So, I'm crossing all of my fingers that something can happen here. The families, the survivors, they all deserve some answers. Thank you for tuning in today. Thank you for taking

some time out of your day to listen to the stories of Steven, Amy, Paula, Valerie, Melissa, Ida, and Stephanie. These are real people. They had lives. These were real people. They had lives, families, stories ahead of them that were taken away in just one split second because of the actions of two people who have gone unapprehended, who have never paid for their crimes and the survivors and their families. They do deserve justice. So, if you know anything, anything at all, contact Crimestoppers down below. You can do so anonymously.

And if you don't know anything, if you live in the New Mexico area in the Las Cruises area, please do feel free to share this story, this video, this podcast episode with friends or family who might also know something. You never know. You never know who that one person is who can potentially hold all the answers. They might not even know it. I'll see you in the next one. Bye, guys.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "the las cruces bowling alley MASSACRE"?

In order: 0:00 Amy Howser, February 10th, 1990, Melissa Repass, Stephanie Senk; 5:00 Melissa Repass; 10:00 Stephanie Senk, Valerie Tran, Amy Howser, Ida Hogwin; 15:00 Anthony Tran, Fred Rubio, New Mexico State Police, Albert Garcia; 20:00 Ronald Senk, Toronto Sun; 25:00 Crime Stoppers, RJ Senic, Salvador Lozano.

What is mentioned in this Georgia Marie episode?

28 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Las Cruces, February 10th, 1990, Las Cruces Police Department, Melissa Repass, 1990, Stephanie Senk. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "the las cruces bowling alley MASSACRE"?

The episode runs 30 min; the transcript is about 5,543 words in 63 timestamped sections.

More from Georgia Marie

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.