On the morning of Sunday, November 5, 1989, deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office discovered the body of 34-year-old John H. Salas on the grounds of Santa Clara Cemetery at 617 Foothill Dr. SW in Albuquerque. Investigators determined he had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head and that his death was not natural.

Early inquiries included a theory that the killing was tied to a robbery, but investigators never publicly established what, if anything, had been taken or how events unfolded before the shooting. The case later grew cold: no arrests were announced and no suspects were publicly identified. The homicide remains unsolved and the people responsible have not been brought to justice.