A Saturday Morning Turned Into an Execution

Shortly after 8:00 a.m. on February 10, 1990, families gathered at a local bowling alley in Las Cruces for breakfast and early games. It was a familiar routine coffee brewing, children laughing, pins crashing in the background.

Then two men walked in.

Within minutes, the bowling alley became the scene of one of the most disturbing unsolved mass murders in American history.

The Victims

The attack left four people dead and two critically injured, including a child:

• Bob Chaffin (Bob Chavez) – Co-owner
• Paula Martinez – Employee
• Melanie Bernal – 12 years old
• Stephanie Chavez – 9 years old
• Bill Chavez – critically injured
• Melinda Gonzales – critically injured

The two survivors would become the case’s most haunting element.

What Happened Inside the Bowling Alley

According to surviving witnesses, two masked men entered the alley armed with a handgun and a revolver. They immediately demanded money and forced employees and customers to the floor.

What happened next defied the logic of a robbery.

Despite compliance:

• The attackers shot execution-style
• Victims were shot multiple times
• Children were targeted deliberately
• No attempt was made to flee quickly

The violence was controlled, methodical, and excessive suggesting this was not a panicked robbery, but something far more deliberate.

The shooters fled, leaving behind shell casings, blood-soaked floors, and survivors clinging to life.

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The Survivors Who Remember Everything

One of the most chilling aspects of the case is that two victims survived including Melinda Gonzales, who was shot multiple times in the head and face.

Despite devastating injuries, she was able to:

• Describe the attackers’ voices
• Recall their movements
• Work with forensic artists

Her memory produced composite sketches that were circulated nationwide.

Yet no arrests followed.

The Investigation: Thousands of Leads, Zero Arrests

Law enforcement launched one of the largest investigations in New Mexico history:

• Over 1,000 leads
• Hundreds of interviews
• National media coverage
• FBI involvement

And still nothing.

Theories quickly shifted away from robbery due to:

• Minimal money taken
• Extreme violence
• Children being murdered
• No urgency to escape

This pointed investigators toward a personal motive, possibly:

• A revenge killing
• A targeted hit
• Someone familiar with the bowling alley

But no suspect has ever been charged.

Theories

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1. Inside Knowledge

The killers knew:

• Who was present
• Where people would be
• The layout of the building

This suggests prior familiarity.

2. Personal Vendetta

The level of brutality exceeded necessity. Many believe someone inside was the true target, and everyone else was collateral.

3. Botched Robbery Cover Story

Robbery may have been staged to disguise something else entirely.

4. The Silence Problem

Despite national exposure, no credible confession or insider tip has ever surfaced.

Someone knows something.

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• Witnesses survived yet justice never came
• Composite sketches exist yet no match
• The crime was public yet no accountability

It remains one of the largest unsolved mass shootings in U.S. history.

This case should be solvable.

The killers didn’t vanish into darkness.
They walked out of a public place in daylight.
They left witnesses behind.

And more than 30 years later, they remain free.