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Cold Case Project of Monterey County
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The Cold Case Project of Monterey County is dedicated to advancing justice for victims of unresolved violent crimes in Monterey County. In partnership with law enforcement, we support the investigation of unsolved homicides, sexual assaults, missing persons cases, and unidentified human remains by funding advanced forensic technologies and modern scientific methods. Through donor support, we help bring answers, accountability, and hope to families and communities still waiting for resolution.
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Cold Cases are not closed cases. They are waiting cases. And together, we can bring resolution and justice to victims, their families and communities.
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CaseWatch: Updates on Cold Cases in Monterey County
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- March 12, 2026: Noel Aguilera Ledesma, formerly a Soledad resident, sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the 2010 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Yvette Martinez. The DA’s Monterey County Cold Case Task Force delivered justice to Yvette and her family.
- April 9,2026: Monterey County Now interviewed the family of Francis DeAlvis, a homicide victim from August 1984. Read their story here.
- May 14, 2026: Saul Miranda Ramirez will have a Preliminary Examination Hearing for the murder of Cruz Gomez, owner of Dos Reyes Night Club in Salinas in 1982. The Cruz Gomez case was solved by a joint effort and collaboration between the DA’s Cold Case Task Force and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, spanning the past several years.
- The Bloodline Detectives TV show highlighted the Monterey County Investigation and Trial into the Murder of Anne Pham of Seaside. CCPMC Board Member and Senior Cold Case Investigator, Bill Clark, interviewed Anne Pham's murderer, Robert Lanoue, in the attached clip. Watch the interview by clicking here.
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While the Pain of Loss Never Leaves, the Family of A Murder Victim Finds Some Solace
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Aric Sleeper here, ruminating on the stories of those who have lost a loved one to violent crime.
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I attended the 27th annual Victims’ Dedication Ceremony on Friday, April 10, at the Monterey County Government Center in Salinas, and walked away thinking about something I learned while reporting on my recent story about the Cold Case Project of Monterey County—and the unsolved case of Francis DeAlvis, who was murdered in his Monterey apartment in 1984.
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I found a common thread expressed among the friends and family members of victims: the grief and anguish that comes when a loved one is murdered never goes away.
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The annual ceremony was themed “Listen. Act. Advocate. Protect Victims. Serve Communities,” and led by Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni.
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Following Pacioni’s opening remarks, she spoke about the case of Yvette Martinez, who was murdered outside of her Greenfield home in 2010 and her body burned inside of her car, which was found on Highway 198.
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For years, Yvette Martinez’s case remained unsolved. Although her ex-boyfriend, Noel Ledesma, was a prime suspect in 2010—due to a history of domestic violence and suspicious behavior before and after Martinez’s death—he had an alibi, which his brother vouched for.
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The District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Task Force, formed in 2020 by Pacioni, took on the case with the aid of a $535,000* grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. In the case of Martinez, investigators re-examined the data from Ledesma’s cell phone and found that he was lying about his alibi and that he was not at a family party as he said, but was near Martinez’s cell phone when she was murdered.
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With the evidence uncovered by the Cold Case Task Force, Ledesma was found guilty of first-degree murder. In March, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
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At the Victims’ Dedication Ceremony, the victim’s sisters, Monica and Crystal Martinez, spoke through tears about their experiences following the murder, and the anguish they’ve felt since the day they lost their sister.
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Although the pain of their loss will always be there, the sisters said that bringing Ledesma to justice did give them some solace, and they encouraged others, like the family of DeAlvis, still waiting for answers, to never give up hope.
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*Note: The $535,000 grant was closed in 2025, with all funds expended.
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Cold Case Project Monterey County Recently Presented to A Local Community Group
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Cold Case Project of Monterey County Participated In The DA’s 2026 Victims’ Recognition Ceremony
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Solving Cold Cases Requires Collaboration: Our Featured Partner:
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Pure Gold Forensics: Welcome Pure Gold Forensics and thank you for your support of the Cold Case Project of Monterey County. Pure Gold Forensics assists law enforcement by using expert DNA technology, including shell casings and MVAC technology to help solve cases.
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Case Highlight: Help Bring Justice for Roxie Phillips
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On June 30, 1969 Roxie Phillips, a 17-year-old high school student from Oregon, was visiting family friends in Salinas. Roxie disappeared after going out for a walk in the early afternoon. No trace of Roxie was found until her body was discovered on July 13th, just outside the city of Carmel, partially buried in a wooded area. Roxie had been strangled to death. Most of her clothing was never found. The intense initial investigation into the case led detectives to the state of Michigan, where a two-year massive manhunt for the original “Co-ed Killer” was finally coming to a close with the arrest of their suspect, who had just returned home from his brief stay in Salinas. He was suspected in at least 6 homicides of young women in and around the Ypsilanti, Michigan area.
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Although this same suspect was identified in Roxie’s case, he was never brought to justice and tried for her murder. He was only tried and convicted of one of the murders in Michigan. The other Michigan cases, as with Roxie’s case, remain unsolved. In late 2024, after a review of the original investigation, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and DA’s Office Cold Case Task Force located key items of evidence from the original investigation, which had been maintained and untouched for the past 55 years. Some of this evidence, using modern state-of-the-art DNA examinations, has the strong possibility of identifying Roxie’s killer, which could also aid in the further investigation of the unsolved Michigan murders.
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The power of Community, Innovation, and Persistence: A President’s Message
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
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As the Cold Case Project of Monterey County continues to share our mission with the community through participating at public events and speaking at organizational meetings, I am continually struck by the number of individuals who come forward to share the story of a loved one lost to homicide in Monterey County. Many of those families are still waiting for justice today.
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There is no single image of what someone enduring this kind of loss looks like—they are government officials, professors, landscapers, siblings, and parents. What unites them, and all of us, is a shared experience of grief, hope, and compassion.
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Every act of violence erodes the trust that binds a community together, reminding us that our well-being is deeply interconnected. To support those who have been harmed is not only an act of compassion, but a necessary commitment to uphold the values we share.
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When we support cold case resolution, we reinforce the principle that no one suffers alone, no one is forgotten, and that the integrity of our society depends on protecting each of its members.
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We encourage you to read the Monterey Now article on Francis DeAlvis. We are deeply grateful to Mary Grove and her brothers for speaking so openly and courageously about such a painful chapter in their lives.
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We remain committed to diligently pursuing Francis’s killer, with the hope of one day soon delivering justice for him and his family.
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With gratitude and determination,
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