S1: E1 – The Father’s Day Murders, Part 1

Summary

American Homicide Episode Summary: S1:E1 – The Father’s Day Murders, Part 1 Release Date: October 17, 2024
Host: Sloan Glass
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts

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Introduction

In the premiere episode of American Homicide, journalist Sloan Glass delves into the harrowing Father's Day murders that shook the small village of El Rancho, New Mexico, in 2011. This episode sets the stage for a detailed exploration of the crime, the tight-knit community’s response, and the ensuing investigation led by the New Mexico State Police.

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Setting the Scene: El Rancho, New Mexico

Sloan Glass introduces listeners to El Rancho, a predominantly Hispanic village located about 20 miles from Santa Fe. The community is characterized by its co-op farming, churches, and expansive, desolate landscapes:

“The region is home to natural hot springs and wild rivers. You can drive an hour north and go whitewater rafting or you can go down to White Sands and enjoy that.”
— Detective Alex Cross [03:32]

The picturesque yet isolated setting plays a crucial role in the unfolding events, with spacious properties and minimal neighbor proximity contributing to the community’s tight bonds and, ultimately, the vulnerability they face.

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The Ortiz Family: Pillars of the Community

The Ortiz family—Lloyd, Dixie, and their adopted son Stephen—are portrayed as beloved members of El Rancho:

“Lloyd Ortiz was a man who loved to use his hands. He owned his own ceramic tile business… Dixie was passionate about working with the elderly and the disabled.”
— Sloan Glass [05:07]

Stephen, referred to as the “gentle giant,” was cherished for his love of drums, ATV riding, and fishing, despite his cognitive challenges.

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The Tragic Night: Father's Day 2011

On June 18, 2011, Cherie Ortiz returned from dinner with homemade enchiladas to discover her parents and brother brutally murdered in their home:

“Cherie said she walks in and realizes something's very wrong. She found her mother in bed… The brutality was unspeakable.”
— Detective Alex Cross [06:41]

Cherie's initial 911 call was frantic and misleading, as she inadvertently reported gunshot wounds instead of the actual blunt force trauma inflicted by a pickaxe:

“I just walked in their house and everybody shot in the head.”
— 911 Operator (Sheree Ortiz) [08:15]

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Initial Investigation: State Police Respond

With El Rancho lacking its own police force, the New Mexico State Police dispatched Officer Paul Chavez to the gruesome scene:

“The brutality was unspeakable. Sheree Ortiz had found her parents and her adopted stepbrother dead within the residence.”
— Detective Alex Cross [10:02]

Upon examination, Officer Chavez and his team discovered significant evidence of violence, including a blood trail leading to the backyard where Lloyd Ortiz's body was found partially concealed by shrubbery.

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Key Discoveries and Investigative Challenges

Further investigation revealed that the victims had not been robbed, and the presence of a marijuana grow on the property did not seem relevant to the murders:

“This did not look like a robbery. It looked like a case of anger.”
— Detective Alex Cross [12:51]

A critical piece of evidence—a pickaxe with bloodstains and DNA from the victims—was found, but no perpetrator DNA was linked, complicating the case.

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Suspects and Community Impact

With no immediate suspects, suspicion naturally fell on Cherie Ortiz and her husband Jesse due to their proximity and potential financial motives:

“State police agent Paul Chavez told the difficult line of questioning a mourning Cherie.”
— Sloan Glass [25:15]

Cherie's financial struggles, including unpaid debts and the late revelation of $80,000 missing from her parents' home, raised red flags:

“She had removed $80,000 in cash from her parents' home but didn't tell the police until three days after the murders.”
— Sloan Glass [25:33]

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Media Pressure and Community Fear

Local reporter Alex Tomlin covers the intense media scrutiny and community pressure faced by Cherie and Jesse, amplifying the tension:

“Nobody wants to think that they're gonna go to sleep and somebody who's pickaxed a couple and their son to death is going to come into their home next.”
— Alex Tomlin [19:06]

The community’s fear was palpable, leading to reluctance in speaking with the media and increased anxiety about potential future violence.

---

Breakthrough and New Leads

Sixteen months after the murders, a breakthrough occurs when a local woman, Ashley Roybal, is arrested and reveals crucial information about the crime:

“Ashley Roybal kept quiet for 16 months… Now, 16 months later, Ashley was finally ready to talk.”
— Sloan Glass [31:08]

Ashley’s testimony promised to shed new light on the case, offering hope for closure to the grieving Ortiz family and the community.

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Conclusion and Cliffhanger

As the episode concludes, listeners are left on a cliffhanger, eager to hear Ashley Roybal’s account in the upcoming part two:

“Find out what Ashley says really happened that night. On part two of the Father's Day murders. That’s next time on American Homicide.”
— Sloan Glass [33:07]

This sets the stage for an in-depth continuation of the investigation, promising to unravel the complexities and uncover the truth behind the brutal killings.

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Notable Quotes

• Detective Alex Cross [10:24]:
  “There was reportedly gunshots heard the previous night in the area.”

• Sloan Glass [21:01]:
  “So Cherie said her parents had been dead since that morning. How did she know that? And why didn't she call 911 till 7 that evening?”

• Detective Alex Cross [29:44]:
  “If you don't investigate Jesse and Cherie to the fullest, you make a very easy argument for a defense attorney to create doubt in a jury's mind.”

---

Final Thoughts

S1:E1 – The Father’s Day Murders, Part 1 effectively sets up a compelling true crime narrative, blending personal tragedy with investigative drama. Sloan Glass's meticulous storytelling, combined with firsthand accounts and investigative insights, provides a gripping foundation for the series. As the community of El Rancho grapples with fear and suspicion, listeners are drawn into the quest for justice, eagerly anticipating the revelations to come in the next episode.

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Stay Tuned for Part 2:
Discover the pivotal revelations from Ashley Roybal and how they reshape the investigation in the next installment of the Father’s Day Murders on American Homicide.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Now streaming on Prime Video.

[Detective Alex Cross]

You can call me Detective Alex Cross.

[Narrator]

Based on characters created by James Patterson.

[Sloan Glass]

We have to catch this serial killer.

[Narrator]

I don't kill for fun. And created by Ben Watkins.

[Detective Alex Cross]

This killer thinks he's the smartest guy in the room.

[Narrator]

Aldous Hodge is DC's funniest Alex Cross. If we don't find him soon, we may never have another chance.

[Sloan Glass]

Clock's ticking.

[Narrator]

You think you can stop him? I know I can. Because I know him better than he knows himself. Cross A new original series only on Prime Video. Watch now.

[Sloan Glass]

What's good. It's Colleen Witt. And Eating While Broke is back for season three. Brought to you by the Black Effect podcast network and iHeartRadio. We're serving up some real stories and life lessons from people like Van Lathan, D.C. young, fly phone Thugs and Harmony and many more. They're sharing the dishes that got them through their struggles and the wisdom they gained along the way. We're cooking up something special, so tune in every Thursday. Listen to Eating While Broke on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts presented by State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

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[911 Operator]

911, where's your emergency?

[Sloan Glass]

It was Father's Day 2011 when Cherie Ortiz walked into her parents home and found the bodies of her mother and father.

[Detective Alex Cross]

They had been shot in the head and it had occurred sometime earlier in the day.

[911 Operator]

I just walked in their house and everybody shot in the head.

[Detective Alex Cross]

The brutality was unspeakable.

[Sloan Glass]

The hunt took would tear the community apart and devastate Cherie.

[Alex Tomlin]

I really do have hope. This is going to get soft.

[Sloan Glass]

My name is Sloan Glass. I'm a journalist who covered the Long island serial killer, the Delphi, Indiana murders and many other high profile true crime cases. And now I'm the host of American Homicide, a podcast where we take you across the country to investigate some of America's deadliest crimes. We'll explore how these murders are shaped by their unique landscapes and how these tragedies have shaped the fabric of these American communities forever. Today we're in the tiny village of El Rancho, New Mexico for Part one of the Father's Day murders on American Homicide. As a note, this podcast contains subject matter which may not be suitable for all audiences. Discretion is advised. Let me paint a picture for you. Santa Fe, New Mexico is called the city different for its rich culture and diverse community. Native American ancestries blend with Spanish culture in a state with one of America's.

[Alex Tomlin]

Richest landscapes, Northern New Mexico in particular. It's a very unique place. It's beautiful.

[Sloan Glass]

Alex Tomlin was a local TV news reporter who lives in the area.

[Alex Tomlin]

It has impeccable weather and the mountains are incredible.

[Sloan Glass]

The region is home to natural hot springs and wild rivers.

[Alex Tomlin]

You can drive an hour north and go whitewater rafting or you can go down to White Sands and enjoy that. But kind of on the outskirts of Santa Fe, you get a lot of the smaller communities.

[Sloan Glass]

And one such place is the tiny village of El Rancho. The predominantly Hispanic community is about 20 miles from Santa Fe and is built around co op farming and churches.

[Alex Tomlin]

It's a lot of people who have kind of grown there, have families there, kind of all know each other, but.

[Sloan Glass]

It'S also a desolate place.

[Alex Tomlin]

One of the things about New Mexico is it's so open. When you go to someone's home, often they have a significant sized property. There's not neighbors very close.

[Sloan Glass]

And even though the homes are all spread out across the desert, everyone kind.

[Alex Tomlin]

Of knows each other. But there is an interesting dynamic here. As much as it's known for its beauty, it's also known for the crime.

[Sloan Glass]

The tragic murders on Father's Day 2011 would stretch the fabric of El Rancho to its limits.

[Alex Tomlin]

So June 18, 2011 seemed like any normal night.

[Sloan Glass]

Cherie Ortiz had dinner plans with her parents, Lloyd and Dixie Sheree Ortiz.

[Alex Tomlin]

She lived on the property with the Ortiz's.

[Sloan Glass]

Her parents and brother lived in a large one story house. And Cherie and her husband lived in an RV next door. Even though there's a fence around their spacious property, the family had an open door policy.

[Alex Tomlin]

Anyone could come in, have dinner at their table, or spend time with them. They were just kind of a good family in this community that was very tight knit.

[Sloan Glass]

Lloyd Ortiz was a man who loved to use his hands. He owned his own ceramic tile business. His craftsmanship turned up in homes and even luxury hotels all over northern New Mexico.

[Alex Tomlin]

He was an incredibly loving father, a hardworking man who provided for his family. His wife, Dixie.

[Sloan Glass]

They sound like a perfect pair. Dixie was passionate about working with the elderly and the disabled. She was an activities director at a local retirement Home and she fostered children with special needs.

[Alex Tomlin]

They took in a child who had chicken baby syndrome and adopted him as their own. Raised that child, loved that child.

[Sloan Glass]

That child's name was Stephen. Stephen had special needs from his early life injuries. His brain never developed beyond that of a nine year old. But he matured into a young man that his family called the gentle Giant. He loved to play drums, ride his ATV and fish with Lloyd.

[Alex Tomlin]

They were just really giving, loving people. Very northern New Mexico, hardworking, you know, love the land, love the culture kind of thing.

[Sloan Glass]

Since it was Father's Day, Cherie Ortiz whipped up a plate of homemade enchiladas for dinner. It was her gift. Just before 7:00 that evening, she took them and walked next door to her parents. Even though it was June white Christmas, icicle lights still hung on the gutters of her parents home. Inside, the walls were adorned with crucifixes and some of Lloyd's handmade tiles.

[Alex Tomlin]

Cherie said she walks in and realizes something's very wrong. She found her mother in bed. Her mother's head was pretty damaged. She thought someone maybe had shot her. She then went into the kitchen area and found what she thought was her father on the kitchen floor. The body was just so impacted by what was used against them. There's these two bodies, there's blood everywhere. She goes screaming out of the house and for her husband again. They lived on the property so it was pretty close.

[Sloan Glass]

Cherie's husband Jessie ran right over to investigate.

[Alex Tomlin]

Her husband then comes in the house and he realizes it's not her father on the kitchen floor. It's actually her brother. And that's when he starts searching around and finds her father outside. Right outside the back door, kind of in the field there.

[Sloan Glass]

Lloyd's body was found on a cinder block path that connected the Ortiz back porch to their fenced in yard. He was face down, wearing only his underwear. His eyeglasses sat just inches away. Covering his head was some green shrubbery. By now Sheree was on the phone.

[911 Operator]

Santa Fe 911, where's your emergency? What is your name? It's Sheree.

[Sloan Glass]

Sheree frantically told the 911 operator that her mother, father and brother were shot to death.

[911 Operator]

I just walked in their house and everybody shot in the head. My brother, my dad and my mom still in bed.

[Sloan Glass]

This was Cherie's second attempt at a 911 call since Cherie and her parents homes were out in the middle of the desert. Her cell reception was spotty. Imagine the panic, the fear that your call would drop again when you're trying to get emergency help for your family. And she didn't know where the perpetrator was or if they were still on the property.

[911 Operator]

Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. I am freaking out. I can't even walk over there because I lose service.

[Sloan Glass]

And then there's another problem. El Rancho is way off the beaten path, which delays the response time for law enforcement.

[911 Operator]

Oh, my gosh. You have to hurry. You have to tell me to hurry. They're on the way.

[Sloan Glass]

With no local police force of their own, the New Mexico state police were dispatched to investigate.

[911 Operator]

I can't believe they're already dead. I can't believe I didn't come check earlier this morning. Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. Why? You know, and all because I didn't have money for a father's day gift. I didn't want to go until I finished cooking enchiladas for him.

[Sloan Glass]

Right.

[911 Operator]

Oh, my God.

[Sloan Glass]

Sharee stayed on the phone for nearly 20 minutes before officers arrived.

[911 Operator]

All the units are going as fast.

[Sloan Glass]

As I can to get back.

[911 Operator]

I'm gonna walk to the gate and wait for them. I'm like too nervous just sitting in my yard.

[Detective Alex Cross]

My name is Paul Chavez. I was a member of the full time crime scene unit as an agent with the New Mexico State Police.

[Sloan Glass]

The 200 homicide cases officer Chavez worked in his career didn't prepare him for what he saw inside the Ortiz house.

[Detective Alex Cross]

In this case, the magnitude of the violence involved was the worst that I had seen in my career. The brutality was unspeakable. Sherry Ortiz had found her parents and her adopted stepbrother dead within the residence. She reported that they had been shot in the head and it had occurred sometime earlier in the day.

[Sloan Glass]

It turns out that although Cherie said she didn't see who committed these murders, she did hear something.

[Detective Alex Cross]

There was reportedly gunshots heard the previous night in the area.

[Sloan Glass]

Now, hearing gunshots isn't entirely unusual in New Mexico, but Cherie and her parents homes sit on a dead end street in the rural New Mexico desert. It's a remote area with unpaved roads and no nearby streetlights. Their nearest neighbor is about 50 yards up the road. Inside the Ortiz home, Officer Chavez and his team assess the situation.

[Detective Alex Cross]

Once I enter into the residence, there is a master bedroom immediately to the left as you walk in. And that is where the first victim, identified as Dixie Ortiz, is in her bed in her nightgown under the blankets.

[Sloan Glass]

Dixie was found clutching her pillow.

[Detective Alex Cross]

Her upper extremities and her head is completely saturated in blood where she had sustained apparent trauma. From that bedroom, there's a drip trail which extends to the kitchen area where we have a second victim, a young man identified as Stephen Ortiz.

[Sloan Glass]

Stephen, her adopted brother, lay face down in a pool of blood, wearing only his underwear. Police noted that he took the brunt of the attack.

[Detective Alex Cross]

This scene was absolutely brutal.

[Sloan Glass]

Stephen was 21 years old at the time of his murder. And based on his injuries, police believe that he tried to fight off the killer before ultimately losing that battle.

[Detective Alex Cross]

The blood continued from that area out the back door where the third victim, Lloyd Ortiz, was found. Outside the back porch, there was a significant amount of bloodshed, indicating that he did sustain some massive trauma. And there was also shrubbery from a nearby bush that was covering his head.

[Sloan Glass]

That's two bloodied bodies inside the home and one outside. And then something else stood out to law enforcement.

[Detective Alex Cross]

There was a small marijuana grow on the property. It was fenced off and padlocked. They did have a medical marijuana card for Stephen for some of the medical conditions he has.

[Sloan Glass]

But none of the 17 marijuana plants appeared to be disturbed. In fact, nothing seemed to be stolen or even out of place. On the kitchen table in plain view sat Lloyd's wallet containing hundreds of dollars.

[Detective Alex Cross]

This did not look like a robbery. It looked like a case of anger. A lot of anger. Based on the brutality that occurred.

[Sloan Glass]

It was a Father's Day to forget for residents in this tiny suburb of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lloyd and Dixie Ortiz were pillars of the tight knit El Rancho community. They were quick to lend a helping hand to others in need. So who was angry enough to harm them and why?

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[Sloan Glass]

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[Sloan Glass]

Shuria Ortiz lived in an RV right next door to her parents house on the same property. Both homes sat on a sprawling lot surrounded by hills in the dusty el Rancho, New Mexico desert. On the evening of Father's Day 2011, Cherie walked into her parents house and found her mother, father and brother savagely murdered. Like many others in the community, Pastor John Trujillo was in shock.

[Narrator]

I get a phone call. They call me pj. Pastor John says, pj, they found Steven, Lloyd and Dixie dead. I said, what are you talking about? Was it a car accident? What happened? He says, no, it seems like they were murdered in their home. You need to get down here right away. And as I drive up, the community is already showing up. State police are there. And about that time, Cherie made her way out and she was just in tears and tears and tears and just. Pastor John, my family's dead. My family's death. Somebody murdered my family. Somebody killed my family. How do you handle that? What do you do? I mean, can you imagine the emotional and physical and just spiritual distraught that you would face? Nobody can prepare for that. I don't care. Nobody's prepared to walk into a scene like that, especially the daughter. The family was grieving and they were mourning. It's all Rancho. This isn't supposed to happen in a community like this. People are, you know, speculating that, could this have happened from the community? Did somebody come here from somewhere else? Was it a family member? Was it a friend? Was it a robbery that went wrong? You know, why? Why? Why? He was like, okay, we need some answers.

[Sloan Glass]

Since El Rancho didn't have a police force of their own, the New Mexico State Police handled the investigation. By morning, the police still didn't know much.

[Narrator]

We're still unsure as to what happened out there. The guys are still working it, working very hard to determine what exactly happened. But at this point, we still don't know. How in the world could something like this happen? You know, one person dead, okay? But when there's three, it Raises a lot, a lot of questions.

[Sloan Glass]

Police believe that three victims were shot to death inside their home, but nothing appeared to be missing. Investigators wondered if it was a murder or a murder suicide. Officer Paul Chavez was one of the first responders.

[Detective Alex Cross]

My role primarily is to process and document the crime scene and try and make sense of what occurred there.

[Sloan Glass]

But the severity of the crime scene limited what he was able to do.

[Detective Alex Cross]

You can't disturb the body much, and with the amount of bloodshed that was present, we weren't able to assess the wounds as well as we would like to have been able to.

[Sloan Glass]

So originally, the police believed all three victims were shot to death. But the results of the autopsies for each victim revealed something far more personal.

[Detective Alex Cross]

That these were, in fact, not gunshot wounds. They were actually lacerations that were penetrating with a blunt object.

[Sloan Glass]

Clearly, something was missing. When the police returned to the scene of the crime, they found a five pound pickaxe lying on the ground just over the fence of the adjacent property. And the pickaxe contained bloodstains.

[Detective Alex Cross]

What the pickaxe did provide us was DNA from all three victims. So we unequivocally had our murder weapon. However, we were unable to forensically link a suspect to the pickaxe.

[Sloan Glass]

So what does that mean, a murder weapon with DNA of the victims but nothing to indicate a suspect?

[Detective Alex Cross]

It could mean a number of things, that maybe they were wearing gloves or they covered their hands in some way or shape or form, and just sometimes the lab just can't find it. It's not 100% certainty that they're going to be able to find DNA. When something is touched, there's a chance that we will, but it doesn't always work out that way.

[Alex Tomlin]

So the one thing about the Ortiz murder was really the pressure on the police.

[Sloan Glass]

Reporter Alex Tomlin covered the story for a local TV station.

[Alex Tomlin]

There was an incredible amount of pressure from that small knit community, but also the surrounding communities. And so there was a lot of pressure on them to get who did it, make it a clean investigation, and let's get this person behind bars. And I'm sure at times that pressure was overwhelming.

[Sloan Glass]

The people of El Rancho couldn't shake the fear that they could be next.

[Alex Tomlin]

Nobody wants to think that they're gonna go to sleep and somebody who's pickaxed a couple and their son to death is going to come into their home next.

[Sloan Glass]

They even refused to talk to TV reporters, not because they felt pestered, but they were fearful of their own safety.

[Alex Tomlin]

And that's the other terrifying thing. Think about the strength it takes to push that pickaxe back multiple times and pickaxe someone to death. That is cold blooded, that is calculated, that is incredibly scary for a community because that person is dangerous. You know, when you can't easily tie up a case like this, when you can't say, oh, it's, you know, a scorned lover or it's, you know, a drug deal gone wrong or different things like that, then it becomes a, what am I next? You want to find who did this because you don't want the community looking at you and saying, what are you doing? Why aren't you protecting us? Why don't you have the answers?

[Sloan Glass]

With no suspects, a weapon and murder scene free of any DNA, investigators started to look at the person who first discovered the bodies. That person was Shuri Ortiz.

[Alex Tomlin]

When something this horrific happens, the community wants answers and they want them quickly. Right? So you want to be able to tie a nice bow on this thing and be done with it. And Cherie and her husband seemed like that nice beau. They lived on the property. You could come up with a motive.

[Sloan Glass]

The police wondered if Cherie and her husband Jesse knew more than they were saying, especially after they listened back to Cherie's original 911 call.

[Alex Tomlin]

She's very frantic in that 911 call, as you can hear, dead, dead, dead.

[911 Operator]

A gunshot one. Dead. They're dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.

[Alex Tomlin]

She made some Comments on that 911 call about, you know, they must have been shot because of how they.

[911 Operator]

I just walked in their house and everybody shot in the head. My brother, my dad and my mom still in bed.

[Alex Tomlin]

It wasn't later until the office of the medical investigator determined that actually they had been pickaxed to death.

[Narrator]

And you have no idea who would have done that?

[911 Operator]

Oh, no. Do you see anybody around? No. He didn't know. I didn't even look. I just freaked out. Oh, my God. They were such good people. Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. We have.

[Sloan Glass]

Desperate and upset, Sheree spent 17 minutes on that 911 call. But as investigators listened back, they zeroed in on a comment Sheree said, now listen closely to what Cherie told the operator.

[911 Operator]

They've been dead since this morning. They've been dead since this morning.

[Sloan Glass]

So Cherie said her parents had been dead since that morning. How did she know that? And why didn't she call 911 till 7 that evening?

[911 Operator]

I can't believe I didn't come check earlier. This morning. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Why? You know, and all because I didn't have money for a Father's Day gift. I didn't want to go until I finished cooking enchiladas for him.

[Alex Tomlin]

They 100% thought she was a main suspect.

[911 Operator]

I can't believe this is happening.

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[Sloan Glass]

Easy.

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[Cindy Crawford]

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[Sloan Glass]

When Lloyd Dixie and Steven Ortiz were brutally murdered in their El Rancho home, their daughter Cherie and her husband Jesse appeared to investigators to be the only people with motive and the access to execute such a violent crime. For months, Cherie and Jesse felt the stares and heard the whispers. Their pastor, John Trujillo, try to be the voice of reason.

[Narrator]

I think when you have to go through that like Jesse and Cherie did, I think it was just a reassurance that said, listen, you know, you need to do this, you need to go through this. Just cooperate with the state police, investigators, whatever you need to do, because it's just a process of elimination. They're looking for answers just as much as everybody else's and they need a starting point somewhere. Just go through the process, answer the question, be honest, be truthful and let them eliminate you. And then they can move forward from there.

[Detective Alex Cross]

So there were a number of red flags that required us to investigate sherri and Jesse to the fullest.

[Sloan Glass]

State police agent paul chavez told the difficult line of questioning. A mourning cherie.

[Detective Alex Cross]

Could family gain from the death of the victim? Sure they can. If there's insurance policies in place or is there property in place. Is there something to be gained? That's definitely something that was going to be looked at.

[Sloan Glass]

Investigators asked about sheree's credit card debt and the fact that she didn't pay her car loans or even the rent on her rv. And then there was this. Cherie also told investigators that she had removed $80,000 in cash from her parents home. But she didn't tell this to police until three days after the murders.

[Detective Alex Cross]

Jesse and sherri involvement couldn't be ruled out.

[Sloan Glass]

Jesse and sheree told detectives that they were at a local casino on the night of the murders.

[Detective Alex Cross]

But there was some conflicting statements between sheree and Jessie.

[Sloan Glass]

The triple murder that rocked the close knit village of el rancho turned friends into enemies, families into suspects.

[Alex Tomlin]

At the time, there was a lot of speculation about her and her husband and whether or not they had been involved in this crime.

[Sloan Glass]

Alex tomlin worked as a reporter for a local TV station.

[Alex Tomlin]

The case was a little bit cold at this time, and we got a call saying she's willing to talk to you.

[Sloan Glass]

Cherie was on the defensive and wanting to publicly clear her name. So she scheduled an interview with alex.

[Alex Tomlin]

Cherie offered to show me the home where her parents had lived and had been murdered.

[Sloan Glass]

Alex met cherie at her home and interviewed her just steps away from where Lloyd, Dixie, and Stephen were murdered.

[Alex Tomlin]

I remember distinctly being in the kitchen, and we were talking about her brother Stephen. And, you know, when the autopsy came out, he had held about a dozen or so blows, I think about maybe 17 blows. And I remember her talking to me about how he was such a big guy, that he was kind of a teddy bear, but he was such a big guy. And it's such a weird sensation when you're standing in someone's kitchen and you're seeing marks on the floor and, you know, their body had been there. And, you know, she cried a lot during that interview, understandably. But really thinking about this young man coming out who didn't really have the cognitive ability to understand what was happening, you know, very much. Still a child kind of in a man's body, and to have that many blows to him, My only thought in that moment was he must have been trying to protect his Parents. He must have been really scared. He must have really fought back. And that was just so sad. It was so sad to think about those final moments and what that must have been like for him, either knowing that he was dying or knowing that something had happened to his parents. It was just really traumatic standing there and knowing this is where he died, and he died in such a violent way.

[Sloan Glass]

With the cameras rolling, Alex asked Sheree about the investigation.

[Alex Tomlin]

I believe they're going through it with tunnel vision, just specifically focusing on us instead of the real people or per. I know it had to be people. How could one person do that? So it left this very weird sensation in the community where some people were still speculating, other people really believed them. Why would they do this?

[Sloan Glass]

Sheree said her parents had life insurance, but she could not collect that money since she and her husband were considered suspects. And without that money, Cherie said, they couldn't pay their bills and worried their homes would be foreclosed.

[Alex Tomlin]

So it was really this sense from her of trying to advocate for herself, but advocate for her parents and her brother to say, I need to know who killed them, and at the same time, I need people to know it wasn't me. And so that was really what the conversation centered around.

[Sloan Glass]

We could lose everything my dad worked so hard for.

[Alex Tomlin]

I actually saw, like, marks on the floor and different things like that where this had happened. It was a really horrific experience.

[Sloan Glass]

Something has to give.

[Alex Tomlin]

I really do have hope. I know this is going to get solved.

[Sloan Glass]

With tears in her eyes, Cherie then looked into the camera to try to clear her name and her husband Jesse's as well.

[Alex Tomlin]

We had nothing to do with it. My God. That was my mom and my dad and my little brother.

[Sloan Glass]

It was no secret that the two were being looked at in the Tribble murder, but were they that desperate for money that they would murder their own family? Paul Chavez investigated.

[Detective Alex Cross]

If you don't investigate Jesse and Cherie to the fullest, you make a very easy argument for a defense attorney to create doubt in a jury's mind. And that's exactly what have happened if we had not followed up on all of the red flags that came up during the course of the investigation.

[Sloan Glass]

But as the investigation dragged on, Sheree shifted the blame back on the state police. She claimed that they botched the investigation and said casino security guards or even children could have done a better job. Against the advice of law enforcement, Cherie even set up a PO Box where people could anonymously submit information about who might be responsible. A year after the Murders. The police promised a press conference to share some breaking news on the case. But that press conference never happened.

[Detective Alex Cross]

There was a lot of leads that came in that were followed up on, but none of them panned out.

[Sloan Glass]

A billboard even went up along a local highway with a picture of Lloyd, Dixie and Steven that offered a $1,000 reward for information. But still there were no arrests.

[Detective Alex Cross]

That was the hardest part of this case for me, was knowing that we have not been able to bring justice for this family.

[Sloan Glass]

And it wasn't just Cherie who was pressuring the New Mexico State Police. Here's TV reporter Alex Tomlin.

[Alex Tomlin]

There was an incredible amount of pressure from that small knit community, but also the surrounding communities and pretty much all of the state saying, you've got to find who did this. You could not take a family who more people said nice things about and have a more awful thing happen to them. I mean, they are bludgeoned to death with a pickaxe.

[Sloan Glass]

Publicly, the police didn't reveal much about other potential suspects, but behind the scenes, it was a different story. Aside from Sheree and her husband Jesse, investigators interviewed numerous people. Then, 16 months after the murders, a local 23 year old woman named Ashley Roybal got arrested. While she's in custody, she tells the police something astonishing. Is it okay if we call you Ashley?

[Detective Alex Cross]

All right.

[Narrator]

I understand that you know some details.

[DSW Advertiser]

I know who did it.

[Sloan Glass]

Ashley tells detectives that she knows who killed Lloyd Dixie and Steven Ortiz.

[Alex Tomlin]

It isn't until Ashley Roybal gets in trouble that all of a sudden she's willing to tell police what happened.

[Narrator]

I'll just let you go ahead and tell me the story.

[Alex Tomlin]

It was almost like the answer everyone had been waiting for.

[Sloan Glass]

Ashley Roybal kept quiet for 16 months. During that time, Cherie juggled losing her mom, dad and brother while being looked at by everyone as a suspect. All while she couldn't collect their life insurance money and was scared she'd lose everything. But now, 16 months later, Ashley was finally ready to talk.

[Detective Alex Cross]

And this was the turning point in the investigation.

[Sloan Glass]

But would anyone believe Ashley?

[Alex Tomlin]

There's things that kind of don't match up. There's shifting stories.

[Narrator]

We just want the truth.

[Sloan Glass]

They say the wheels of justice move very slowly. And in this case, that would prove to be an understatement.

[Alex Tomlin]

And I remember thinking, oh, God, here we go again. This poor family has been through the wringer.

[Narrator]

I would have never suspected that it was going to come down to this.

[Sloan Glass]

Find out what Ashley says really happened that night. On part two of the father's Day murders. That's next time on American Homicide. You can contact the American Homicide team by emailing [e-mail] that's AmericanHomicidePodmail.com American Homicide is hosted and written by me Sloan Glass and is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Todd Ganz. The series is also written and produced by Todd Ganz with additional writing by Ben Federman and Andrea Gunning. Our associate producer is Kristin Melcuri. Our I Heart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Krynchak. Audio editing and mixing by Matt D'Al Vecchio additional editing support from Nicaruka, Tanner Robbins, Britt Robichaud, Dave Saya and Patrick Walsh. American Homicide's theme song was composed by Oliver Baines of Noiser Music Library provided by Mib Music. Follow American Homicide on Apple Podcasts and please rate and review American Homicide. Your five star review goes a long way towards helping others find this show. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator]

Now streaming on Prime Video.

[Detective Alex Cross]

You can call me Detective Alex Cross.

[Narrator]

Based on characters created by James Patterson.

[Detective Alex Cross]

We have to cat this serial killer.

[Narrator]

I don't kill for fun and created by Ben Watkins.

[Detective Alex Cross]

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[Sloan Glass]

Clock's ticking.

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You think you can stop him? I know I can cuz I know him better than he knows himself. Cross a new original series only on Prime Video. Watch now.

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[Sloan Glass]

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