Five murders unsolved as year nears end

ALBUQUERUQE (KRQE) - For those five families it's a hard statistic to hear. They know the people who killed their loved ones are still out there.

Last year the city saw 44 homicides with 56 the year before that. With 32 so far in 2011, the city is on pace to hit a 20-year low.

The last time there were that few murders was in 1991 when there were 36.

This was Constance and Joseph Yancey's first Christmas without their son, Andrae Davis, who was shot and killed in August. A stray bulled pierced his front door and then his heart.

He died in front of his three young children. The person who pulled the trigger has never been caught.

"Nothing that happens from this will ever bring Andrae back," his father, Joseph Yance, said. "But we don't want to see it happen to anyone else."

Four other cases also remain unsolved including the murder of Quincy Booker. Police say four gunman opened fire in the middle of the street on him in southwest Albuquerque in July.

Geraldo Saavedra's murder is also unsolved. He was killed in September in a drive-by shooting.

In November a woman opened her door to find a known prostitute, Gina Gutierrez, stabbed to death on her doorstep. There are no leads in that case.

And then in early December Marvin Thomas was found nearly decapitated in his home near Yale and Kathryn in southeast Albuquerque.

With only five cases unsolved, the Albuquerque Police Department has cleared nearly 85 percent of its murder cases. Davis's family says that's good but not good enough.

"If it's the only one in 100, it's me," Yancey said.  "They can solve all the other 99 cases, but it's still not 100 percent to me."

His family believes their son's murderer may have been an illegal immigrant who fled the country and is worried police have run out of leads. They say they haven't gotten any updates from APD since the shooting happened.

They did get a special surprise for Christmas, though: almost 200 letters from New Mexico State University students. The letters were sent to Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry and Police Chief Ray Shultz just before Christmas requesting justice in Andrae Davis's case.

The Yanceys have also set up a Facebook page called Remembering Homicide Victims for those whose loved ones have been killed. They hope to help other families heal.