Disclaimer
The photo-realistic images provided in this article, including the cover image, have been generated using Artificial Intelligence. Any resemblance to these images is likely coincidental and should not be construed as an indication involvement in any crime–especially the heinous Bowling Alley Massacre of 1990.
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The case remains unsolved and Las Cruces police continue to ask for tips that may help solve the crime. Las Cruces-Dona Ana County Crime Stoppers is offering a $25,0000 reward for information that helps identify the two men believed to be responsible.
A Las Cruces Digest Report
Artificially Generated Images By Levi Gwaltney, Editor
Information Courtesy City of Las Cruces
Historical Photos Courtesy City of Las Cruces and LCPD
Today, Feb. 10, 2025, marks the 35th anniversary of one of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Las Cruces – the 1990 mass-shooting of four children and three adults at a local bowling alley.
Four of the victims – three of them children – were killed that day while one of the adult survivors died years later from complications related to injuries she sustained in the shooting.
The case remains unsolved and Las Cruces police continue to ask for tips that may help solve the crime. Las Cruces-Dona Ana County Crime Stoppers is offering a $25,0000 reward for information that helps identify the two men believed to be responsible.
The mass-shooting occurred on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 10, 1990, at Las Cruces Bowl, at the time a popular bowling alley at 1201 E. Amador Ave. Two gunmen forced the seven victims into an office inside the bowling alley before opening fire on the three adults and four children ages 13, 12, 6 and 2.
About 8:30 a.m. that day, Melissia Repass, a 12-year-old suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, heroically called 911 to alert authorities to the crime. Las Cruces police and fire personnel were dispatched to the bowling alley where the victims were found shot execution-style.
First-arriving officers found three victims already dead: 26-year-old Steven Teran, his 6-year-old daughter Paula Holguin and 13-year-old Amy Hauser. Steven Teran’s 2-year-old daughter, Valerie Teran, was rushed to a local hospital but died shortly after arrival.
Wounded during the shooting were Melissia Repass, her mother Stephanie Senac, 34, and 33-year-old Ida Holguin who was not related to Paula or the Terans. They were transported to area hospitals and survived. Senac died nine years later, in 1999, from complications related to her injuries.
Investigators believe the suspects stole an undetermined amount from the business, believed to be less than $5,000 in a combination of cash and personal checks, before setting fire to the office in what was likely an attempt to destroy evidence. Investigators believe the suspects are Hispanic with dark complexions. Investigators learned both suspects spoke fluent English.
“Suspect 1”: The Younger of Two Men Sought
The Las Cruces Police Department has listed two individuals whom they are seeking to identify. The younger of the two would likely be in his sixties, today. Here are the police-generated representations of “Suspect 1”:
These representations were created with the best technology available at the time, and should be considered the primary images used in determining whether or not you have information that needs to be reported to the authorities. What follows is the application of current technology without the benefit of additional information received by the police artists who created the original representations, above.
Five Cousins: “Aged-Up” Representations of “Suspect 1” Generated Using Artificial Intelligence
The following five faces were created using an image generator leveraging artificial intelligence. The creation image was provided the first released likeness of “Suspect 1” as a reference. The software was prompted with: “Hispanic man in his sixties with a mustache.” The idea was to “age-up” the original to find a representation of how “Suspect 1” might appear, today. The different results generated provided a range of faces appearing to be related. It is for this reason that the following five pictures are called the “Five Cousins”. They appear related, as they should because they are all generated from the same reference image.
While skin color was originally listed in the description of “Suspect 1”, it was intentionally omitted from the prompt to avoid confusion with the “hispanic” element in the description. For example, the resemblance of the second police rendering of “Suspect 1” (above, middle) to Eddie Murphy is a difficult association to overcome once spotted. Any algorithmic biases associated with “dark skin” in the description wanted to be avoided.
It was never the intent to create a definitive face, merely a range of possibilities derived from the earliest released representations of “Suspect 1”. It was also decided to focus on how “Suspect 1” might appear today. Please note: Mere resemblance to any of these images is not an indication of any involvement in the 1990 Bowling Alley Massacre. [Just because Eddie Murphy looks like the second LCPS rendering (above, middle) does not make him a suspect in this heinous crime. The same is true for anyone who may resemble the images provided, below.]
The AI-generated images, below, are intended to serve as an additional prompt to jog a memory or make a connection that may have passed as an oddity or curiosity. They also represent the range of possibilities that have done nothing but grow over the past thirty-five years. These images were generated without involvement of any law enforcement agency and with no input data other than what was listed above.
