Originally posted on June 2, 2024 @ 10:03 pm
In Pursuit with John Walsh Recap for Blood in the Streets
-This week’s In Pursuit with John Walsh is titled Blood in the Streets and is following several unsolved cases.
CASE 1:
-In 2022, a young woman named Carmerina ‘Carmen’ Trujillo disappeared from Pflugerville, Texas. A few days later, her boyfriend Luis Montes would also be reported missing. Little did anyone know the dark turn this case would take.
-On January 25th, 2022, Detective Javier Hernandez of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office was working on a missing persons case. Luis’s family had reported missing despite being home earlier that day. At the request of his boss, he began working on the case, discovering that he was dating Carmen, who would also be reported as missing by her family. Javier had initially gone to Carmen’s house to question her about Luis, but her daughter Emily told him that she had not seen her mother since the day before.
-Carmen was a single mom who moved to the area to give her children a better life. Her daughters Emily and Elisabeth were confused and didn’t think that their mother would leave voluntarily. They kept calling her, but got no answer, making them more and more worried.
-The police questioned the girls, who would say that despite the fact that Luis and Carmen had a good relationship initially, he would often love bomb her and give off weird vibes. Carmen had wanted to break up with him, but he convinced her to stay in the relationship.
-Police headed to Carmen’s job, where her boss Amin said she was well-loved by customers. She worked as a cook and people would often come to see her. Amin recalled one incident shortly before she disappeared where someone was spotted under her car. At first, he thought someone was fixing her car, but it turned out someone believed to be Luis put a tracking device on her car. By now, Carmen had had enough and ended things.
-Emily and Elisabeth went on their own to search for their mother, going to Luis’s house to question his dad. He’d claimed that Luis and Carmen were arguing and that they both left, with Carmen leaving everything behind, including her phone. The girls took the phone and called Luis and someone they believe to be him answered. They have a strange interaction and go to the police, leading to a CLEAR alert to be released. This is something only used in cases where an adult is believed to be in danger.
-The media picked up the case, including a woman named Carolina Cruz. It is soon discovered that Carmen was also with a man named Eduardo the day she disappeared and that Luis caught wind of it and began calling her incessantly. The two of them are believed to have been spotted in a credit union parking lot that night. Further investigation showed that blood was found in the parking lot….possibly belonging to Carmen.
-Authorities now know they are dealing with a possible murder investigation. Luis is seen driving away in his car and then coming back in an Uber to pick up Carmen’s car.
-A search for Carmen begins and on February 15th, her car is found abandoned with her dead body inside. She had been dead for weeks at that point.
-By now, a search warrant for Luis is obtained, but he has not been seen since he was spotted at the credit union via security camera.
-Luis is six foot one, 220 lbs and has black hair, brown eyes and a mole on his right cheek. He also has a lazy eye and often avoids eye contact. He works as a landscaper and is believed to have been seen in Austin, Texas or Mexico.
FIFTEEN SECONDS OF SHAME:
Johnny Wilson is wanted for allegedly murdering his estranged wife in Houston, Texas. He is six foot one, 250 lbs and has ties to Louisiana.
HOT LIST:
-Kevin Michael Waguespack is accused of murdering his girlfriend Catherine Dyer in 2015. He has been on the run ever since and was featured on the show in a previous season.
-On November 15, 2015, Kevin (who goes by Mike) and Catherine spent time with friends Candra and Dimetrios. The next day, the friends were unable to get in touch with Catherine, so they decided to check on her at home. They walked into a brutal crime scene and called the police. Sargent Michael Crumrine arrived at the scene, calling it one of the most brutal he has seen in his decades-long career.
-As the scene is being processed, Mike called 911 to confess to the murder. He would turn himself in and waive his right to counsel, saying that the couple he got into a fight that led to her murder.
-On November 30, he was transported to Austin to await trial. At this point, he was given an ankle monitor and for a year and a half, seemed to follow the rules. However, he would soon disappear, thanks to the judge granting a request to remove the monitor. He has not been seen since.
-Kevin Michael ‘Mike’ Waguespack is five foot ten, weighs 185 lbs and could be working in roofing, construction or manual labor. He has ties to Katy, Texas, Houston and Natchez, Mississippi.
MISSING CHILD:
Madalina Cojocari was last seen on November 23, 2022. She was eleven years old at the time and last seen getting off the school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina. Her mom Diana and stepfather Christopher never reported her missing. She would be thirteen years old now.
CASE 2:
-This case takes place in Chicago and involves a friend of the Walsh family. On June 24th, 2022, Gianno Caldwell and his siblings lost their brother Christian Beamon to gun violence.
-Callahan talks to Gianno, who says that Christian was the light of every room he walked into and loved basketball and joking around. He remembers getting a call from his sister Mia, telling him about Christian’s murder. She’d heard of a shooting where three people were killed, including Christian.
-Gianno went to the scene of the crime and was told what happened. He then called the hospital, who refused to give him answers, so he called local officials, who confirmed his death.
-Gianno was then given details of the murder, which occurred in front of the venue Christian was at. This sent him into a fit of anger, saying that everyone needs to come together to help prevent gun violence from happening.
-Donovan Price is a street pastor who works with the police to help end gun violence. He has seen endless counts of violence and seen many people, including a baby named Cecilia Thomas dying via gunshot wounds. Her case, as well as Christian’s remain unsolved.
-Cecilia’s mom Juanita Harris will stop at nothing to find her daughter’s killer. The family had been driving to see family when the car behind them began shooting and fatally killed Cecilia.
-Juanita says that there are a few leads in the case, but nothing solid as of yet.
-Paul Rutherford has been working on both cases. There is a maroon Chrysler twith Georgia plates hat is possibly connected to Cecilia’s case. There were two people in face masks spotted in the vehicle. Other video footage shows Christian’s murder taking place through a bunch of trees. It is believed that more than one gun was used and over thirty shots were fired. Each case has a $15,000 reward to help bring the killers to justice.
FIFTEEN SECONDS OF SHAME 2:
-Hector Valente Martinez is wanted on murder charges out of Austin, Texas. He is eighteen years old and goes by Amado. There is a chance he could be in either Texas of Mexico.
MISSING CHILD 2:
Diego Hernandez is thirteen years old and has been missing from Denver, Colorado since December 1st, 2023. He was last seen leaving his home in the middle of the night. He was four foot nine and 120 lbs at the time of his disappearance.
