These days there are countless true crime TV shows available to anyone with basic cable or satellite service. This fact makes it tough for any one case to stand out and capture people's attention. But sometimes standing out is what's required. Sometimes there's a case that cries out not to be forgotten, much as the families of that crime's victims continue to cry out for justice. "A Nightmare in Las Cruces: Part 2" depicts such a case. There is no statute of limitations on murder and no expiration date on the need for closure. That's why documentary film maker Charlie Minn made the original "A Nightmare in Las Cruces" in 2010 and updated the movie in 2015. For years, he has been calling attention to an unsolved massacre which remains the worst mass shooting in New Mexico history.
On the morning of February 10, 1990, two armed men walked into the Las Cruces Bowl. When they walked out, seven people were lying on the floor of the bowling alley's office, each with multiple gunshot wounds. Only three of them would survive. The shooters were never identified. The victims included employees preparing to open up for the day and some of their family members and friends. The dead included a 13-year-old girl, a member of the National Guard, and his two daughters, ages 6 and 2. Among the three survivors was a 12-year-old girl who somehow managed to call 911 and guide emergency personnel to the scene, even though she herself had been shot five times, once in the head. A massive manhunt in and around this southern New Mexico city failed to turn up any suspects. About $2,000 - $3,000 was missing from the bowling alley's office, but there are lingering doubts as to whether robbery was the motive. The crime was featured on a 1992 episode of "Unsolved Mysteries", but the Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre remains just that – an unsolved mystery – an open wound to those who survived it and to the families and friends of those who did not.
The documentary opens with a significant portion of the original telephone conversation between Melissia Repass and the 911 dispatcher. It's both heartbreaking and harrowing. As the story of the robbery and the shootings unfolds, we see actual crime scene photos and video, a re-enactment of the events of that morning and interviews with the survivors of the shooting, the surviving family members of the victims, various emergency personnel and the Las Cruces detectives who worked on this case in 1990 and since. When the images on the screen return to the crime scene, more is revealed, just as the various narratives of the victims, witnesses and investigators delve ever deeper into the tragedy of the massacre, the short and long-term effects on that normally peaceful community and the seemingly endless efforts to figure out what happened, who did it and why.
Minn has gone on to make other true crime documentaries focusing on important and compelling true crime stories of regional and national interest, but for the 25th anniversary of the massacre at the Las Cruces Bowl, he has returned to the cold case that he first brought to the screen five years earlier and updated it. "A Nightmare in Las Cruces: Part 2" consists of the original 2011 film, followed by an additional 36 minutes of conversations with some of his original interviewees and with the Las Cruces detective currently assigned to the still-open case. Most of this supplementary segment takes place in a single room with Minn talking to his interview subjects about recent developments in the investigation and their perspectives on the case five years after their original interviews. There are no easy answers to the many remaining questions surrounding this crime, but it is clear that the emotions it elicited remain just beneath the surface for those closest to it and that the desire to find those who committed these murders remains strong even a quarter century later.
"A Nightmare in Las Cruces: Part 2" tells its story in an interesting and creative way, but suffers from several technical problems. Minn clearly put a great deal of time and energy into finding and talking to every significant role player in this tragic saga. His questions and the progression of the story seem to leave no stone unturned in relating what is known about the case, the many unanswered questions and the theories about what really happened. Everyone in the film gets a fair shake and Minn is wise enough to led the film breathe as each person who appears on screen talks about their experiences and their own thoughts and feelings about the case. Minn further humanizes the story by arranging for reunions of some of the principles, in many cases years after they had last seen each other. He also makes sure that we understand who the victims were as individuals and how their sudden and needless deaths affected their families and friends. Unfortunately, the effect of all this is somewhat diminished by the quality of the sights and sounds used to tell the story. The camera-work is amateurish, some of the editing decisions are questionable and the technical quality of some of the audio and video are inconsistent. As frustrating and distracting as these problems are, Minn deserves credit for his passion, his tenacity and for an important story well told. "B+"
On the morning of February 10, 1990, two armed men walked into the Las Cruces Bowl. When they walked out, seven people were lying on the floor of the bowling alley's office, each with multiple gunshot wounds. Only three of them would survive. The shooters were never identified. The victims included employees preparing to open up for the day and some of their family members and friends. The dead included a 13-year-old girl, a member of the National Guard, and his two daughters, ages 6 and 2. Among the three survivors was a 12-year-old girl who somehow managed to call 911 and guide emergency personnel to the scene, even though she herself had been shot five times, once in the head. A massive manhunt in and around this southern New Mexico city failed to turn up any suspects. About $2,000 - $3,000 was missing from the bowling alley's office, but there are lingering doubts as to whether robbery was the motive. The crime was featured on a 1992 episode of "Unsolved Mysteries", but the Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre remains just that – an unsolved mystery – an open wound to those who survived it and to the families and friends of those who did not.
The documentary opens with a significant portion of the original telephone conversation between Melissia Repass and the 911 dispatcher. It's both heartbreaking and harrowing. As the story of the robbery and the shootings unfolds, we see actual crime scene photos and video, a re-enactment of the events of that morning and interviews with the survivors of the shooting, the surviving family members of the victims, various emergency personnel and the Las Cruces detectives who worked on this case in 1990 and since. When the images on the screen return to the crime scene, more is revealed, just as the various narratives of the victims, witnesses and investigators delve ever deeper into the tragedy of the massacre, the short and long-term effects on that normally peaceful community and the seemingly endless efforts to figure out what happened, who did it and why.
Minn has gone on to make other true crime documentaries focusing on important and compelling true crime stories of regional and national interest, but for the 25th anniversary of the massacre at the Las Cruces Bowl, he has returned to the cold case that he first brought to the screen five years earlier and updated it. "A Nightmare in Las Cruces: Part 2" consists of the original 2011 film, followed by an additional 36 minutes of conversations with some of his original interviewees and with the Las Cruces detective currently assigned to the still-open case. Most of this supplementary segment takes place in a single room with Minn talking to his interview subjects about recent developments in the investigation and their perspectives on the case five years after their original interviews. There are no easy answers to the many remaining questions surrounding this crime, but it is clear that the emotions it elicited remain just beneath the surface for those closest to it and that the desire to find those who committed these murders remains strong even a quarter century later.
"A Nightmare in Las Cruces: Part 2" tells its story in an interesting and creative way, but suffers from several technical problems. Minn clearly put a great deal of time and energy into finding and talking to every significant role player in this tragic saga. His questions and the progression of the story seem to leave no stone unturned in relating what is known about the case, the many unanswered questions and the theories about what really happened. Everyone in the film gets a fair shake and Minn is wise enough to led the film breathe as each person who appears on screen talks about their experiences and their own thoughts and feelings about the case. Minn further humanizes the story by arranging for reunions of some of the principles, in many cases years after they had last seen each other. He also makes sure that we understand who the victims were as individuals and how their sudden and needless deaths affected their families and friends. Unfortunately, the effect of all this is somewhat diminished by the quality of the sights and sounds used to tell the story. The camera-work is amateurish, some of the editing decisions are questionable and the technical quality of some of the audio and video are inconsistent. As frustrating and distracting as these problems are, Minn deserves credit for his passion, his tenacity and for an important story well told. "B+"
