Public weapon descriptions conflict. Early reporting mentioned a .22 rifle and shotgun; later accounts described a small-caliber or .22 handgun; police were still withholding the weapon type in 1991.
What this does not prove
The weapon type, number of weapons, caliber, authenticated shot count, or firing sequence.
What the documentary shows—and what it cannot establish
The documentary presents the gunmen as searching for additional money they expected to find but could not locate. Ida recalled hearing shuffling and movement. The public record does not establish what they searched, exactly what they expected to find, or whether anything other than money was involved.
Neither Ida nor Melissa says the men “rifled through a filing cabinet” in the documentary’s English dialogue. That is a later paraphrase, not a survivor quotation.
Every public item below has an actual access path. When E&E has only a reference to an unavailable underlying record, the linked source is shown instead. Restricted and internal-only details remain outside the reader view.
40Verified paths
8Unverified source paths
Evidence & Echo public evidence ruleOpen policy
The public site shows the evidence trail a reader can actually follow. A reader-facing evidence item must have a hosted file, public record, official source, archive page, or other usable access path.
Available item: display the record with its verification and access labels.
Referenced item: display the source that mentions it—not an empty card pretending E&E holds the underlying item.
Unavailable item: place the research gap in What Remains Open or keep it in internal tracking.
Restricted or internal item: do not expose its card or access details in the reader view.
Transparency means showing the path. It does not mean displaying inaccessible records as if they are available.
Core external sources26 reader paths
LC-SRC-001City of Las Cruces — 36th-anniversary case appealEvidence VaultVerified · Verified · Public link
Catalog separately as the 2011 film re-released with about 30 minutes of additional footage. Melissa observed new material, including Barry Swanson's attributed analysis; exact timestamps, wording, credentials and files reviewed remain verification gates.
LC-CONTEXT-007KTEP interview with Charlie Minn about Parts 1 and 2Evidence VaultVerified · Verified · Public link
Reports a defense verdict and sole responsibility assigned to the unknown gunmen; the exact legal basis requires the verdict form and judgment.
A public link does not by itself authenticate an artifact or clear reuse rights. Missing items belong in What Remains Open—not in empty reader cards.
Civil litigation
Two lawsuits. A separate evidentiary lane.
Contemporaneous reporting confirms two civil actions connected to the massacre. Civil allegations, reported testimony, settlements and verdict descriptions are kept separate from the criminal investigation and from established fact.
Action one
Audrey Teran and Stephanie Senac
Reporting says the action named Ronald Senac, the bowling business, and John Doe I and II. It was later reported settled for an undisclosed amount. The complaint, formal caption, settlement and dismissal papers are not held.
Action two
Gloria Woods
Reporting describes a May 1995 trial and a jury result in favor of the bowling-alley owner. The transcript, verdict form, judgment and exact legal basis are not held.
The newspaper pages establish what was reported. They do not substitute for pleadings, testimony, exhibits, verdict forms, judgments or settlement papers.
Contradictions preserved
Incident time
Whether the doors were locked
Opening time and legal duty
The formal business name
The exact basis of the reported verdict
Acquisition status: The Third Judicial District route is confirmed, but the legacy case numbers and primary files remain unacquired. The staged records request is NOT SUBMITTED and requires Melissa’s separate authorization, contact information and approval of possible fees.
Reader research collection
UNVERIFIED — USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
Every public card below has a path a reader can follow. The source is available; its underlying claim or artifact has not necessarily met the Evidence Vault standard.
Located files & source pages8 paths
LC-MEDIA-001Released full 911-call research containerUnverified FileLocated · Pending · Public link
Documents later filing-cabinet language but does not verify survivor wording.
Use-at-your-own-risk rule: a link does not equal verification. Unavailable underlying items are tracked in What Remains Open, not presented here as empty evidence cards.
What remains open
Credibly referenced records without a reader access path
Unsolved Mysteries segmentMedia genealogy source; a stable authorized full-segment link is not in the held register.
Complete incident and supplemental reportsPublic corpus is incomplete; absence does not prove police loss or destruction.
Complete survivor and witness interviewsPublic retellings cannot substitute for complete native interviews.
CAD, dispatch, and responder corpusExact response chronology remains unavailable.
Complete scene diagram, evidence inventory, and chain logItem positions and custody cannot be reconstructed completely from reporting.
Fire investigation filePublic accounts do not establish the complete origin-and-cause analysis.
Ballistics, projectile, and firearms recordsWeapon and firing-sequence claims remain bounded by conflicting reports.
Latent-print comparison historyNo public match is not the same as no print evidence.
Biological and DNA testing filesPublic status reporting does not provide the complete methods or vendor record.
Autopsy and medical recordsStrict privacy, trauma, and dignity controls apply even if obtainable.
Safe, cash, check, and financial recordsPublic reporting cannot establish the full loss or accounting chain.
Vehicle-lead statements and dispositionVehicle descriptions and outcomes remain unresolved.
312-person suspect and lead disposition logThe reported count does not reveal how each lead was resolved.
1991 gun-tip responses and final dispositionPublic appeal and reported responses do not establish the outcome.
Original composite-creation and age-progression filesPublic composite images do not supply the witness-input or production record.
Complete reward ledgers and private-offer agreement or custody recordsPublic reward amounts do not establish funding components, agreement terms, custody, expiration or payment history.
Audrey Teran and Stephanie Senac reported civil actionContemporaneous reporting confirms the action and later undisclosed settlement, but the formal caption, pleadings, settlement and dismissal papers remain unavailable.
Gloria Woods reported civil action and May 1995 trialContemporaneous reporting confirms the trial and reported defense verdict, but the formal caption, pleadings, transcript, verdict form and judgment remain unavailable.
Civil-trial witness and reported-testimony leadsNewspaper reports identify Gloria Woods, Anthony Woods, Ida Holguin Rel, Stephanie Senac, Steven Senac and unnamed former employees; transcripts and source statements are not held.
Civil counsel and trial-judge leadsReporting names Norman Todd, Kevin Riedel, Lourdes Martinez and Judge Jerald Valentine; formal appearances and assignment records are not held.
Opposing civil security-expert leadsReporting identifies Edward Garcia and Albert J. Salzer and opposing opinions; reports, credentials, retention records and transcripts remain missing.
Unidentified civil economist and damages analysisReporting describes life-value and earning-capacity components, but the economist's identity, report, assumptions and testimony are not held.
Civil exhibit, policy and Steven Senac statement leadsDoor and lock evidence, business procedures, prior statements, schedules, demonstratives and the statement reportedly read in court require primary acquisition.
Complete civil primary-document acquisition checklistBoth cases still require captions, docket sheets, pleadings, service, motions, orders, discovery, depositions, experts, exhibits, transcripts, verdict or settlement papers and any appellate record.
Richard Barry Swanson motive analysisDocumentary opinion is sourced, but the reviewed file set, authority, method, and evidentiary basis are not verified.
A Nightmare in Las Cruces: Part 2The expanded 2015 version and Melissa's viewing establish that additional material exists, but exact timestamps, full wording, rights, credentials and the underlying reviewed files remain unverified.
Motive claims beyond robberySimilarity among speakers does not convert a theory into an official finding.
Paula Holguin relationship statementThe newest private register conflicts with the prior official-page interpretation. Do not silently rewrite the authored article or relationship module without source-level resolution.
Audrey Teran civil action — primary-record controlThe action and reported settlement are located in contemporaneous newspapers, but no primary docket or settlement papers are held.
Gloria Woods civil action — primary-record controlTrial and verdict reporting are located, but the primary docket, transcript, exhibits, verdict form and judgment are not held.
Civil historical docket-search statusKnown-party and business-name searches did not produce a confirmed match; this does not establish loss, sealing or non-digitization.
Civil expert and Steven Senac statement originalsSecurity experts, an unnamed economist and a statement reportedly read in court are identified only through reporting.
Civil verdict's exact legal basisNewspaper formulations differ and an anonymous juror reportedly said some questions were never reached.
Complete incident and supplemental reports
Survivor and witness interviews
CAD and dispatch record
Scene diagram
Evidence and chain-of-custody inventory
Fire report
Ballistics and projectile records
Latent-print comparison history
Biological-testing files
Suspect and tip disposition logs
1991 gun-lead disposition
These are research gaps, not reader evidence cards. A document missing from the public record is not necessarily missing from police custody.
