Fort Carson Army Soldier Nolly Depadua Killed Air Force Spouse Lourdes Riddle to Silence Sextortion Threats; Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison, Out in 7 (March 26, 1985)

ID Go: After Lourdes Riddle in found strangled to death in the trunk of her car, homicide detective Joe Kenda follows the trail through a twisting maze of military and cultural secrets. Just what was Lourdes doing behind her husband’s back? -Secret Life, Homicide Hunter (S1, E5)

Investigation Discovery featured back to back episodes of Homicide Hunter with Lt. Joe Kenda. Kenda is a retired detective from the Colorado Springs Police Department. Colorado Springs is also the home of US Army base Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base. As a result, Lt. Kenda worked closely with investigating authorities at both bases throughout the years when one of his murder cases involved a member of the military or their dependents. If a crime against a military member or their dependents occurred off-base within the jurisdiction of Colorado Springs, Lt. Joe Kenda had the legal authority to investigate the strangling death of an Air Force wife found in the jurisdiction of Colorado Springs.

Construction workers found an abandoned car that had been set on fire on their property on March 26, 1985. The scene looked suspicious so they contacted the police to investigate the situation. The police found Air Force spouse Lourdes Riddle strangled to death in the trunk of her own car. Lt. Joe Kenda was called to the scene to investigate the crime further and determined that whoever killed Lourdes also tried to cover up their crime. They found that an accelerant (gasoline) was used to burn the car and a brick was on the driver’s side floor of the car (as if it was used to hold down the gas pedal). As Kenda was processing the crime scene, two Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) personnel showed up and claimed they were taking charge of the investigation. They informed Kenda they had the husband, TSgt Mark Riddle, who worked at NORAD, Cheyenne Mountain, in custody on Peterson AFB.

Kenda’s response to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations personnel was priceless and proves that he truly is a fierce detective that all law enforcement should emulate. He was not intimidated by the feds in the least bit when the crime occurred in his jurisdiction. He shared that even it was their house, how dare they walk into his crime scene. Kenda was absolutely shocked when they shared they had enlisted soldier, Mark Riddle, in their office at Peterson AFB. Their attitude was that it was obvious who did it because in most cases it was the husband or boyfriend. When in fact, Kenda was disappointed that they may have tainted the case by initiating an ‘immediate arrest’. He was afraid that this outside agency, who had no jurisdiction, had advised Mark Riddle of his rights and he would want a lawyer now. His guilt was not obvious to Kenda who did not automatically assume that the husband committed the crime. He simply wanted to talk to him, not accuse him. Kenda felt that their actions may prevent him from doing an interview which could really damage the case. Kenda admitted to making mistakes in his lifetime but he also shared that he gets really upset when someone else makes them for him. If all investigators operated like Kenda and made assumptions based on fact finding, we could better protect the due process rights of individuals.

Kenda gains access to Mark Riddle and learns that Lourdes is a 31 year old from the Philliphines who has been married to him for nine years. There was in fact trouble in paradise and Mark admitted that his wife had been spending time with and maybe even sleeping with other men. They were not happily married. He claimed he was home the night of the murder and had no alibi. Mark asked for a polygraph test to prove his innocence and passed it, then let the investigators search his home. Although adultery is a motive for murder, Kenda determined that Mark Riddle was honest, credible, and was no longer considered a suspect. This case was not a sex crime but it was a personal and angry crime as evidenced by the ligature strangulation. Kenda felt that this person wanted to punish her and wanted to feel her die. This person was deemed the “Pantyhose Strangler” in the media. After talking to Lourdes family, Kenda learned that Lourdes was threatened by more then one person. Kenda wasn’t sure if she was a target because of Mark’s work at a secret military base or if it was because of her own secret life.

The Air Force couple lived on Peterson AFB. Kenda learned that Lourdes went to night clubs that soldiers frequented. She was into the nightlife, partying, and dancing. Her neighbors reported that she was in and out of the house all the time, usually dressed up with high heels, short skirts and make-up. During Kenda’s investigation into the circumstances of Lourdes secret life, rumors began to circulate at the enlisted men’s club on Fort Carson that she was extorting Army soldiers. In the meantime because of media coverage, an eye witness came forward with a description of a suspect that was found near the scene of the crime that night. He was a black male about 6’8. Kenda asked those who frequented the enlisted club on base if she was dating anyone matching the description. He learned that she only dated Phillipino men and wouldn’t give any other guy the time of day. The rumor was that she draws soldiers in like a Venis flytrap. She specifically sought out Phillipino soldiers. She would have a relationship with them, claim that she was pregnant, and threaten to go to their military Commander if they did not give her money for an abortion.

Lt. Kenda learned of blackmail accusations involving Nolly Depadua, a Phillipino soldier stationed at Fort Carson. Nolly had a friend named Brian Hawkins, also a Fort Carson soldier, who matched the description of the suspect described near the scene of the crime the night Lourdes was murdered. Kenda spoke to Brian with the approach that the facts would give him a theory. Initially Hawkins denied any involvement but Kenda believed that he was lying based on his body language during the interview. He requested he undergo a polygraph test and Hawkins failed miserably. When confronted with the results, Hawkins begins to cry. Hawkins told Kenda that Lourdes wanted money from Nolly Depadua. She claimed she was pregnant and was going to contact the Commander if he didn’t give her money. Nolly was concerned that his family would be ashamed of him if he got kicked out of the military. Nolly strangled Lourdes with the pantyhose.

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Nolly Depadua, U.S. Army

Kenda arrested Nolly and learned from him that they had sex, and she wanted $1000 for an abortion. According to Nolly, Lourdes took his Army dress uniform, used it as ransom, and threatened to burn it if he didn’t give her the money. His career and that uniform meant everything to him. The night of the murder, Nolly asked Lourdes to meet him and give him back his uniform. Lourdes showed up without the uniform. He snapped and strangled her to death in an effort to solve his extortion problems and save his career. Nolly elicits the help of Brian to help him get rid of the body. Unlike in the movies, the car did not explode in a ball of flames like the pair was expecting. The evidence at the scene of the crime was mostly unharmed. According to Kenda, both of the soldiers appeared to show remorse for the crime. Although Lourdes Riddle was a participant in her own death and her behavior caused this reaction, she did not deserve to die. Nolly Depadua made a decision to take a life and you can’t do that. Due to the circumstances surrounding the homicide, he was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. He was released after seven. Lt. Kenda ended the show with: “saying she got what she deserved is not fair.”

A couple issues come to mind when it comes to the way the military handles investigations of felony crimes. Why did the Air Force Office of Special Investigations want to take jurisdiction of this case? Why did they do an ‘immediate arrest’ instead of investigating the circumstances and basing their decisions on fact finding? Why don’t they realize that their actions actually hinder the thorough investigations of cases. Research does in fact support that most spouses are murdered by their significant others but we have this thing called due process in the civilian world. The way Kenda felt about OSI interfering and possibly damaging the case was legitimate. And Kenda approached the investigation of the case in the way that detectives should move forward. He simply wanted to talk to the spouse, not accuse of him of the crime. So far there was no evidence to prove that Mark Lourdes had committed the crime. The way the Air Force OSI handled this case is part of the reason that the military justice system is under fire. They have been accused of overreach to include not affording due process rights to both victims of crime and those accused of a crime. They have been accused of railroading military members with an iron fist and as Joe Kenda would say ‘draconian and ruthless’ tactics. They have been accused of making a victim fearful of coming forward if they were involved in a military crime, like adultery or drinking underage. Nolly Depadua is yet another example of a crime involving the motive of fear when someone threatens to go to a military commander.

This is the heart of the military justice system debate. A commander hears each person’s story and determines who is guilty and who is not guilty based on that evidence alone usually. Commanders make the decision whether to prosecute someone in the military. If felony cases were handled by prosecutors who understood the modus operandi of sociopaths, psychopaths, and predators, would our soldiers feel more comfortable reporting a crime without the fear of damaging or losing their own career. It’s a theme that comes up over and over in military cases and needs to be examined. Are soldiers hesitant to report crimes perpetrated against them to their Commander if they have engaged in illegal behavior of any kind to include drinking under age and adultery? If this is the case, we must remove this barrier so that our soldiers feel safe to report felony crimes perpetrated against them without fear of losing their careers because they committed a misdemeanor.

If Nolly had a safe place to report that Lourdes was extorting him despite the adultery issue, could we have prevented this murder? We don’t want our soldiers to feel like they have nowhere to turn if they are targeted by those who know how to manipulate unsuspecting Commanders. It’s important to recognize that both male and female soldiers can be targeted by male or female sociopaths and predators. Reporting crimes to your commander is currently a battle of whose story is more believable and what they feel or don’t feel like dealing with. Commanders hold the key to moving forward with a case or not in our current military justice system. Do they have the skills necessary to investigate and determine who should be prosecuted for crimes? Commanders may not realize that they could tip people off who need to be questioned simply by prematurely inquiring into something which creates an opportunity for collusion.

In the civilian world, you most likely will not lose your career for adultery. Yet in the military, adultery is treated like any other crime in the courts martial process and soldiers can and do lose their careers. It’s not worth a life when people feel that they have to take matters into their own hands to protect what should never been taken from them to begin with. This is why the reporting of felony crimes needs to be moved away from the Commander and to a trained investigator who can help the prosecution determine whether a crime has been committed or not. Prosecutors cannot win cases if the defendants are not afforded due process rights. And this is what gives civilian law enforcement the advantage because they are forced to work within a justice system that protects the constitutional rights of the accused. We want to respect those rights in our pursuit of justice because that is how we will get justice. We should ensure our soldiers that if a felony offense is committed against them that they can safely report the crime without the fear of losing their career.

Source: ‘Secret Life’ Homicide Hunter, Investigation Discovery

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Army CID warns Soldiers to beware of ‘sextortion’ scams
Secret Life | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S1, E5)
Secret Life | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Secret Life | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Secret Life | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Nowhere to Turn: Soldier Extorted by a Military Wife Ends in Murder
Fort Carson Army Soldier Nolly Depadua Killed Air Force Spouse Lourdes Riddle to Silence Sextortion Threats; Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison, Out in 7 (March 26, 1985)
Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Secret Life’ on ID: Fort Carson Soldier Strangled Lourdes Riddle to Silence Sextortion Threats (November 22, 2011)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado

Yvonne, Carlos & Benjamin Cisneros Found Dead in Colorado Home; James Perry Acquitted of Homicide, Murdered in New York (January 12, 1979)

When a pregnant mother and her young sons are brutally slain, pressure mounts for the CSPD to catch the monster who did it. After a city-wide manhunt, Kenda begins to tighten the noose on a prime suspect, but what happens next will shock him to his core. -The Master Key, Homicide Hunter (S4,E8)

The neighbor was supposed to watch Yvonne Cisneros’ two children Carlos and Benjamin but they never showed up. She was concerned and went to check on them but there was no answer. Yvonne, 22, and the two children were found dead with multiple stab wounds by Ben Cisneros in their Colorado Springs apartment on January 12, 1979. Kenda was called to investigate the triple homicide. Yvonne was strangled and stabbed 60 times in the chest, back and abdomen; there was evidence of a sexual assault. Two-year-old Benjamin had been stabbed 22 times. And 4-year-old Carlos was stabbed 19 times; he also had crushing injuries to the head made with a barbell. This was a vicious frenzied attack. They were stabbed with a tool; the evidence lead to one perpetrator.

Ben Cisneros was the number one suspect initially. Ben Cisneros was in the military. He met Yvonne when she was 16. They were planning on having another child. Yvonne was 3 months pregnant when she was murdered. Ben was assigned to the Butts Army Air Field at Fort Carson; he was an air traffic controller. Ben Cisneros was at work at the time of the crime and was quickly ruled out by Kenda. Ben was concerned when Yvonne didn’t answer the phone so when his shift ended he went straight home. The Army could back up his alibi. The coroner determined the deaths were between 9 and 11 a.m. There was no forced entry so the killer had the key or was let into the apartment. Then a witness reported to Kenda that he saw the maintenance man enter Ben and Yvonne Cisneros’ apartment the morning of the homicides.

Kenda got a warrant to search the premises of James Joseph Perry. His common law wife said he was not home at the time of the crime. She was employed as a cleaner at the apartment building and had a master key but when she went to retrieve it, it was missing. In the laundry room, Kenda found a bottle of bleach and the clothes that matched the description provided by the witness. Kenda took the clothes for analysis at the crime lab but he knew it most likely would not show anything because bleach destroys evidence. Kenda needed to directly connect Perry to the crime. They found a pen with paint splatter at the scene of the crime. Kenda wanted to compare the paint Perry used on his last job to the paint on the pen they found. Kenda confiscated the paint cans from the maintenance building as evidence.

When detectives met up with Jimmy, they noticed paint on his watch too. Perry was arrested and immediately asked for an attorney. Kenda believed Perry took the master key, quietly entered the Cisneros’ apartment, and then attacked Yvonne first. Perry raped her, attacked her with a weapon, and killed her. He then attacked and killed the children because they witnessed what he did. He went home, bleached his clothes and went about his day. The lab results supported the prosecutions theory. The paint from the pen matched the paint Perry last used. At Perry’s trial, the jury reached a verdict and found the defendant not guilty on all counts. The investigators were shocked and felt like they let Ben, Yvonne and the children down. After the trial, James Perry moved back to New York City. Several months later, Kenda learned someone threw James Joseph Perry out of a 10th floor window at an apartment in the Bronx. He was dead. Karma?

Source: The Master Key, Homicide Hunter, Investigation Discovery

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
The Master Key | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S4,E8)
The Master Key | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
The Master Key | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
The Master Key | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘The Master Key’ on ID: Military Family Found Murdered in Colorado Springs Home (October 14, 2014)
Homicide Hunter: 15 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery

Sam & Rosa Melena Found Near Death, Sam Later Died; AWOL Army Soldier Lawrence Todd Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder (November 14, 1978)

The elderly owners of a beloved local grocery are brutally attacked and left for dead. Working with little beyond a vague witness description, Lt. Joe Kenda leads a state-wide manhunt to catch a pair of cold-blooded killers before they disappear for good. -Blood Red Highway, Homicide Hunter (S3,E8)

On November 14, 1978, store owners, Sam & Rosa Melena, were robbed and left for dead in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sam Melena was found with multiple stab wounds and Rosa was badly beaten but both were alive. But Sam Melena later died of his injuries in the hospital and Rosa was still in critical condition. In the course of an official murder investigation, Lt. Kenda learned the persons who robbed the grocery store got away with $32 and witnesses described two people running from the scene, a black man and a white woman with red hair. Kenda went to the hospital to interview Rosa Melena while she was alert and observed the pattern of a sole on her face. They took pictures. Rosa told Kenda she heard someone ask to use the store phone and then heard a loud crash. When she went to investigate, she witnessed a black man stabbing Sam and when he saw her, he attacked her too. After the interview, Kenda ordered a canvas of the area and found a new lead.

One neighbor said the description of the suspects sounded like the couple who lived in a basement apartment in his building. Lawrence Eugene Todd was in the Army. On the day of the crime, Lawrence and Vicki Locklin asked for 20 cents to make a phone call at the grocery store. Kenda determined the phone call was a distraction device used to help Lawrence catch the grocery store owners off guard. Kenda went looking for the pair in their basement apartment but they were gone. Although, during the search of the abandoned apartment, they found some important documents. The two were from Visalia, California. Todd was in the Army stationed at Fort Carson. Kenda issued an all points bulletin statewide and nationwide to help find them right away. Meanwhile, Kenda learned from a background search that Vicki Locklin had a minor record of shoplifting in Visalia, California. And Lawrence Todd had one record, an assault with a deadly weapon in California. (Why does the Army recruit Todd?)

“When people become desperate, it’s very easy to do desperate things.” -Lt. Joe Kenda

Meanwhile Kenda got some information from Fort Carson and learned from a sergeant in his unit that Todd had a lot of problems in the last several months because he hated the Army. He wanted out any way he could get out, then he went AWOL. The sergeant told Kenda he believed he knew where they would go. They wanted to go back to California. It was all the pair could talk about; they wanted to go back home to Visalia. Kenda asked the Denver Police Department to check all the truck stops in the area but the deadly duo had already hitched a ride with a trucker. Someone witnessed them catch a ride with a trucker and called the cops. The same trucker was pulled over and in deed Lawrence Todd and Vicki Locklin were in the truck. During the interrogation, Vicki Locklin told Kenda what happened. She said they were poor and needed money. Lawrence grabbed Sam from behind and started strangling him.

Vicki said Lawrence demanded she throw him a knife and he stabbed Sam multiple times. He cut his hand on the knife when he did it. He then went after Rosa, strangled her, and kicked her in the head. He went back to Sam and kicked him repeatedly before they grabbed the money and left the store. There was no interrogation with Lawrence Todd as he asked for a lawyer. Kenda compared Lawrence’s shoes to the bruise on Rosa’s face and it was a match. They also found the knife Vicki told them they ditched after the crime. Both defendants were indicted for aggravated robbery, attempted murder, and first degree murder. Vicki Locklin cut a deal with the prosecution in exchange for her testimony and leniency; she was sentenced to ten years in prison. Lawrence Todd was found guilty and he was sentenced to life plus 98 years in prison. Kenda was disgusted Lawrence Todd took a life for $32 and said he needed to be in a cage and never get out.

“You bastards, these are little old people, running a bread and milk store in the middle of nowhere, and you’re going to attack them for the contents of the register. I was angry to the core. You’re not going to do this in my city, you’re just not.” -Lt. Joe Kenda

Source: Blood Red Highway, Homicide Hunter, Investigation Discovery

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Warrants Issued in Grocery Death
2 Suspects Sought in Slaying of 83-Year-Old Grocer
Locklin Confessed, Said Todd Killed Grocer: Police
Jury reaches no verdict in Sam Melena’s murder case
Exclusive Interview: Meet the Homicide Hunter
Joe Kenda: 11 Essential Facts about TV’s “Homicide Hunter”
The US Military Recruited Violent Felons to Support the War Efforts
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado
Homicide Hunter: 10 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery
Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Blood Red Highway’ on ID: AWOL Fort Carson Soldier Kills Store Owner Sam Melena for $32 (November 19, 2013)
Blood Red Highway | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S3,E8)
Blood Red Highway | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Blood Red Highway | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Blood Red Highway | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)

Estevan Maestas Killed After Live Hand Grenade Detonated; Colorado Springs PD Believes Explosive Device Stolen From Fort Carson (November 12, 1978)

When a mysterious explosion rocks a sleepy suburb, it’s up to Kenda to ID a pile of charred remains and find the killer who triggered the blast. Then…a young mother’s murder leads the CSPD on a harrowing car chase that ends in a violent showdown. -Point of No Return, Homicide Hunter (S5,E13)

Homicide Hunter is an Investigation Discovery show featuring retired police Detective Lt. Joe Kenda (1973-1996). Lt. Kenda worked for the Colorado Springs Police Department for years and investigated and solved hundreds of cases during his employment. Now in his retirement, he outlines the cases that he encountered on the job and explains how he eventually solved the case. Colorado Springs is home of Fort Carson, an Army base with about 30,000 soldiers. This show is especially interesting given the fact that Lt. Kenda worked in a city with a close proximity to a large base. We have learned over time just how intertwined his job was with a military base known for an active role in fighting wars overseas over the years.

Exercises and deployments continually hone the skills of the Fort Carson Soldiers. When not deployed, Soldiers train annually at Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site and the National Training Center in California. Additionally, units participate in joint exercises around the world, including Central and South Africa, Europe, and Southwest Asia. In 2003, most Fort Carson units were deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. ~Fort Carson History

Last night, Lt Joe Kenda discussed an explosives case that had been assigned to him. A powerful explosion occurred in a suburban neighborhood of Colorado Springs on November 12, 1978. He was actually working on paperwork on a Sunday when he received a call from police on the scene. They think they found human remains in the remnants of a detached garage near a single dwelling home. Joe was asked to investigate because this could be an intentional act of murder. Joe shared that the scenes he has investigated over the years have been horrific and quite shocking to include this one. As a result, he admitted that he has a hard time eating and sleeping, which are both signs of Post Traumatic Stress of which he admitted he has. This is a normal response for anyone who witnesses these acts of horror, especially over a long period of time.

After Joe arrived on the scene, he deduced that the damage looked like shrapnel damage. But his immediate thought was that it was most likely a gas explosion. He notices in the garage what looks like a large pile of human remains. Based on the remains, he assumed that it was most likely an adult male who was killed. If it’s not a gas explosion, what is it? A couple theories began to emerge including maybe the man lit a cigarette in an area with gas cans and exposed fuel or the victim was booby trapped with hidden wire. This could have been a murder.

Based on his fears of more explosives on scene, he decided to call the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) Bomb Squad to investigate further to determine whether there were any more active munitions. He explained how explosive technicians truly understand explosives and other various devices. As soon as the Bomb Squad arrived at the scene, they immediately recognized the explosive had the smell of a military explosive. Fort Carson had this kind of ammunition on their base since before World War II. The Bomb Squad theorized that somebody from the base most likely smuggled it from Fort Carson and brought it to the current location. A CSPD detective explained how now we have robots to investigate bomb scares but back then we didn’t have that. Explosive technicians put their lives on the line everyday but more so before the advent of robots and other technologies to help minimize the danger of their jobs.

The CSPD Bomb Squad found another hand grenade in the garage that appeared to be live. An ordinance specialist entered the garage and not only found another grenade but he also found evidence of the dead man who was blown up by the first grenade. The second grenade appeared to be untampered with and there were no other explosives found at that location. Police suspected that the victim could have been in the building when someone threw the grenade in. They needed to learn more about the victim to determine if he had any enemies that would do something like this. They learned that the house is a rental and the current tenants only moved in a couple of months ago. The neighbor shared that a man named Estevan had recently retired and moved into this location. While on scene, a police officer found a human index finger quite a distance from the remnants of the garage. This discovery changed the whole direction of the case because the finger was found with a wire around it and this was the pin ring from the hand grenade. The victim may have pulled the pin and detonated the explosive. This could have been an accident.

Joe needed to identify the victim so he started with taking the victim’s finger to the lab so they could attempt to identify him by finger print. The lab technicians told him that without a name, it could take months before they get a match. In the meantime, Estevan’s wife showed up at the police station after learning what happened at her residence. Joe had to tell her that her husband was dead. She shared that his name was Estevan Maestas and he was a custodian at the school with finger prints on file. Estevan was simply going to clean out the garage because the people who lived their before left a bunch of junk in there. She left the house after he went out to the garage. Because his past did not indicate that this could have been a suicide attempt, it was theorized that this was in fact a tragic accident. Estevan most likely found the grenade, had no idea that it was live and maybe he thought it was a toy. He pulled the pin and he never felt a thing, he never knew what hit him.

The CSPD speculated that the grenades had been stolen from Fort Carson and brought into this rental home by a soldier. They assumed that most likely this guy didn’t want to deal with having to dispose of the grenades so he just left them there to become the next person’s problem. This was a hard pill to swallow given a man lost his life over this reckless act. Why was it not followed up on? Given how the military has strict regulations and is supposed to have strict chain of custody records to help them track all explosives, it should be easy to determine whether or not this grenade came from this base. It could have been brought home as a souvenir from World War II, Vietnam, or the Gulf War era. Were they able to cross reference the rental records at the location of the explosion with Fort Carson soldiers? This case revealed more mystery then resolve. If a soldier did smuggle the grenades from the base, why was there no investigation for theft, and now maybe even manslaughter? It is assumed that this person intentionally left them behind because they didn’t want to properly dispose of them.

In theory, no soldier should have been able to get these grenades on a plane or off the base without a search or a documentation trail given how the military usually conducts business. Much like communications security equipment (COMSEC), ammunition is inventoried and kept under lock and key in an effort to prevent compromises with dangerous repercussions. In most circumstances, if Fort Carson recognized that ammunition was missing, they would shut down the base until they found it. If someone dropped the ball at Fort Carson, a man lost his life because of careless documentation and security practices. And the Colorado bomb squad and Lt. Joe Kenda risked their lives in an effort to prevent anyone else from getting hurt or killed. Hopefully, soldiers learn a valuable lesson from this circumstance given it could have been a harmless act that went terribly wrong. Whoever left the grenades behind may not have intended for Estevan Maestas to die but he did. If a military member was responsible, it would be nice to know that the military has implemented safety and security procedures that can help prevent this kind of a tragedy from ever happening in our communities again.

Source: Point of No Return, Homicide Hunter, Investigation Discovery

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S5,E13)
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Point of No Return’ on ID: Estevan Maestas Killed By Live Hand Grenade Left Behind in Rental Garage (December 1, 2015)
Lessons Learned from a Military Ammunitions Explosion in Colorado Springs
Homicide Hunter: 15 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery