Ralph Salazar & Alice Griego (Ace of Hearts, Utah)

Summary

The Deck Podcast: Episode Summary Ralph Salazar & Alice Griego (Ace of Hearts, Utah) Release Date: September 25, 2024

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of The Deck, host Ashley Flowers delves into the mysterious and tragic case of Ralph Salazar and Alice Griego, known as the Ace of Hearts from Utah. This episode seeks to shed light on a cold case that has lingered unresolved for over a decade, with hopes that new insights or a listener’s tip might finally bring justice to the victims and peace to their grieving families.

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The Night of the Tragedy

On the morning of Friday, December 14, 2012, tragedy struck Salt Lake City, Utah. Alice Griego, a 55-year-old dedicated single mother of five, failed to show up for her shift at Smith's Bakery—a workplace she had been committed to for over 17 years.

Frankie Cisneros, Alice’s son, received a frantic call from his sister, Jenna, expressing concern over their mother's unexplained absence. With Alice never missing a day of work, Frankie immediately rushed to their shared home with her boyfriend, Ralph Salazar.

Upon arrival, Frankie encountered thick smoke emanating from the residence. Attempting to rescue his mother, he faced life-threatening conditions:

Frankie Cisneros [05:06]: "I tried to walk in again, but it was early in the morning... I saw somebody. I think he was a kid... we were able to walk in and walk into the room. And as I got into the room, I just saw my mom."

Despite his desperate efforts, Frankie could only locate his mother’s arm and wrist, unable to save her from the engulfing flames. The harrowing experience culminated in both Ralph and Alice being pronounced deceased at the medical examiner's office, with preliminary investigations suggesting foul play.

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Initial Investigation

Detective Ben Pender, leading the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit, took charge of the case. From the onset, investigators suspected that the fire was intended to destroy evidence, noting that the blaze was confined primarily to the bedroom and that an accelerant might have been used, as some neighbors reported smelling gasoline.

Detective Ben Pender [07:19]: "We realized that maybe the fire was to try to cover up any evidence potentially left at the time."

The intense fire made the crime scene difficult to process, with significant damage to potential evidence. Despite recovering some personal items and cell phones, much was lost to the flames and subsequent firefighting efforts. Notably, Pender indicated that while no items appeared to have been stolen, the motive behind targeting Ralph and Alice remained unclear.

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Victims’ Backgrounds

Alice Griego was a devoted single mother who had previously endured abusive relationships before finding solace and happiness with Ralph Salazar. Ralph Salazar, 59, was a self-made businessman owning his own aluminum siding and insulation company. Their relationship brought Alice the stability and happiness she had long sought.

Jenna (Alice's daughter) [12:15]: "They went to Paris for her birthday... He really did make my mom happy."

Their happiness, however, was abruptly shattered on that fateful night, leaving their family grappling with loss and unanswered questions.

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Possible Motives and Suspects

Investigators initially explored those closest to the victims, uncovering that Ralph was still legally married, though separated for about a decade. This revelation led to speculations about Ralph’s wife possibly having motives tied to financial gains, especially considering reports of threatening letters and Ralph’s substantial life insurance policies.

Alice’s children suspected Ralph’s wife might have had motives related to inheritance and control over Ralph’s assets:

Jermaine (Alice's son) [15:49]: "He’s going to divorce her because he doesn't want to take care of her anymore... She's living this high life, and all of a sudden it's going to get taken from her because he's going to divorce her."

Additionally, suspicions arose regarding a business partner who allegedly had financial disputes with Ralph, including accusations of skimming money from the business. However, Detective Pender noted that thorough financial investigations did not yield conclusive evidence linking the business partner to the murders:

Detective Ben Pender [18:19]: "We just have nothing that indicates that it had to do with the business at this point."

Despite these leads, no individual outside of Ralph and Alice appeared to have a clear motive or opportunity, leaving the case without a definitive suspect.

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Evidence and Investigation Progress

The investigation faced significant challenges due to the compromised state of the crime scene. However, efforts continued to piece together the timeline and potential motives. A pivotal development in the case was the collection of a DNA sample, which Detective Pender hinted could be instrumental in solving the case:

Detective Ben Pender [22:47]: "DNA was collected in this case, and it has been processed to what degree it can be processed... we're still investigating and working on what we have with that."

Despite extensive analysis, the DNA evidence had yet to produce actionable leads. Furthermore, advancements in technology and new investigative techniques hold a promise that could one day break the impasse.

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Impact on the Families

The unsolved murders of Ralph and Alice had profound emotional and psychological impacts on their children. The loss of their parents compounded with the lingering ambiguity of the case contributed to deep familial trauma.

Mario (Alice's son) [23:09]: "He was crying one day... I told him, I'm not mom, but I promise to do everything that mom tried to do for you."

Tragically, the family's pain further deepened when Mario took his own life a year and a half after the murders, a heartbreaking manifestation of the unresolved grief the family endured.

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Call for Information

As years passed without resolution, Detective Pender remains hopeful that new information will come to light. He urges anyone with knowledge or information about the case to come forward, emphasizing that even the smallest detail could be the key to unlocking this mystery.

Detective Ben Pender [25:47]: "If somebody has information, we're going to follow up on it and either include it or exclude it. Those are really the people that I'm looking for, is somebody that may have some information on this case."

Listeners are encouraged to reach out directly to Detective Pender to aid in the investigation:

• Phone: [phone]
• Email: Provided in the show notes

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Conclusion

The case of Ralph Salazar and Alice Griego remains a poignant reminder of the enduring pain that unresolved crimes inflict on families. The Deck aims to keep their memory alive and bring renewed attention to their unsolved murders, offering a platform for justice to potentially be served through listener engagement and collective advocacy. As Detective Pender continues his relentless pursuit of the truth, the hope persists that this cold case will one day be solved, closing the chapter on a family's enduring suffering.

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For more information on "The Deck" and to support their advocacy work, visit deckpodcast.com.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Ashley Flowers]

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[Frankie Cisneros]

My sister had called me and said, you know, mom didn't show up to work. And my mom never missed a day. Like she was always at work. She didn't miss, never called out.

[Ashley Flowers]

55 year old Alice Griego had worked at Smith's bakery for over 17 years. And every day of those 17 years she promptly started her shift on time, which at this point started at 3am so it being close to 8am when Frankie got this call was every reason to be concerned. Right away he jumped in his car and raced over to the home Alice shared with her boyfriend Ralph Salazar.

[Frankie Cisneros]

And I was, you know, mind kind of racing like, what's going on? I was a little scared, reluctant. So I went up there and as I got up there, I could smell, and it was in the wintertime, so I can smell smoke. As I got out of the car, the first thing that comes to my mind is, you know, chimney. You know, people are lighting their fireplaces or whatnot. So I tried to go on the side of his door. He has like two windows, two small windows on the side. So I tried to look in and it was pitch dark obviously, so I opened the door and right when I opened the door, smoke came out. And I tried to enter but there was too much smoke. And you can see that the fire had been going for a while already because the fire was out at that time, but the smoke had risen and of course I was, you know, calling my mom's name. And I walked in about three or four feet and I couldn't make it because I couldn't breathe.

[Ashley Flowers]

Frankie tried going around the back of the house where he knew there was a sliding glass door to their bedroom. When he realized that was locked, Frankie grabbed a chair and desperately tried breaking the glass, but he couldn't. By the time he returned to the front, some of the smoke had cleared.

[Frankie Cisneros]

I tried to walk in again, but it was early in the morning. So I had on like kind of shower shoes and it was hot in there. So I tried to walk in and I couldn't. And as I was coming out, I saw somebody. I think he was a kid, honestly, maybe like 16, 17. And I had asked him to give me his shoes so I can go in. I said, I think my mom's in there. And he was kind of like reluctant like, what? You want my shoes? I was like, I think my mom's in there. And, you know, I don't know what's wrong. And so he said he would come in with me. And we were able to walk in and walk into the room. And as I got into the room, I just saw my mom. My mom was there, and I saw, like, her arm. The only thing I could make out of her was, like, her arm and her wrist. And I kind of knew it was her because I know my mom's skin tone. I know what her skin looks like. And at that time, I couldn't see Ralph because he was on the further side of the bed. And it was still smoky. It was really hard to breath, breathe. I started crying, and the kid was like, let's go. Let's get out of here. We got out and I called the cops.

[Ashley Flowers]

That call came to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department at 8:26am Detective Ben Pender was called to the scene in 2012, and he still works this case now in his role with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit. From the jump, it appeared to him and other investigators that this was foul play. The buyer marshals themselves would eventually rule this as a case of arson. But there were signs even the lesser trained eye could pick up on, like the fact that the fire had been pretty contained to the bedroom where the two victims were. And the fact that someone likely used an accelerant because, according to Fox 13, neighbors smelled gasoline. Though it's important to note, Detective Pender wouldn't confirm if that was accurate today. But the potential of gasoline might not matter so much for our purposes. Cause the thing he would confess was that pretty early on they realized both victims had been shot, likely before the flames were set and while they were still asleep in their beds. Here's Detective Pender.

[Detective Ben Pender]

We realized that maybe the fire was to try to cover up any evidence potentially left at the time. This was probably one of the most difficult crime scenes to process. After the fire department had put the fire out and after we had secured a search warrant to make entry into the residence, the fire department, in order to put the fire out in the bedroom, had to pull the sheetrock from the ceiling and the walls. And unfortunately, with that, insulation all came out. And it was the kind of insulation that was like blown in, so that was all over everything. We probably had about a foot of insulation throughout the entire bedroom, covering everything.

[Ashley Flowers]

From underneath that insulation, deputies and techs collected some potential evidence, like the bedding and some personal items in the room, including the victim's cell phones. But much of what they collected sustained substantial damage due to the fire and then putting out that fire. Detective Pender was guarded about what other items specifically were collected, but he did tell us about one substantial finding from the scene.

[Detective Ben Pender]

We don't believe that there were items taken. We don't believe it was like a home invasion, and we believe it had something to do with those two.

[Ashley Flowers]

But who had targeted Ralph and Alice and why was still a mystery.

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[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

We're actually from Colorado. She left my dad because he was abusive and we moved probably in 89 or 90 here to salt Lake with my grandma and we just kind of started our life here.

[Ashley Flowers]

That new life included another relationship that became abusive and it wasn't until Alice met Ralph later in life that things looked like they were going her way. 59 year old Ralph was a self made man who owned his own aluminum siding and insulation business and he shared his success with Alice.

[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

They went to Paris for her birthday and they had just barely returned the end of September. They were out there for a month and that was her first and only traveling experience she had versus coming from Colorado to Utah. So it made me happy because she got to experience her life and the way she wanted to experience it with him and he showed her things that my dad and my stepdad never kind of gave her because they were both abusive. It just made me happy that he made my mom happy. He really did.

[Ashley Flowers]

Jenna spoke with her mom regularly and she said the last conversation they had was the night before on December 13th. It was about 9:30pm when they were on the phone. Alice was home, but she said Ralph was at a bar with some buddies. Police confirmed with Ralph's friends that he was indeed with them that evening and he must have had a few More than he planned, because his friends say that he had Alice come pick him up at around 10 or 10:30pm and Alice's son Richie could confirm at least that part of the story because he'd gotten a text from his mom asking if he could pick up Ralph's car from the bar.

[Detective Ben Pender]

I didn't leave in time, though. I didn't pay attention to the text message. When I finally decided to look at my phone, I was like, oh. I told Anna. I was like, babe, let's go get this car, before they tore it from the parking lot in the bar. So when we went, I missed her, and the keys were just sitting on the tire. And that was the last text message I had sent to my mom.

[Ashley Flowers]

Detective Pender told our reporters that the drive home from the bar to Ralph's house would have taken about 25 to 30 minutes, putting them home anywhere between 10:30 and 11pm the theory Alice's children have is that Ralph and Alice arrived home and then likely went to bed right away, knowing Ralph was drunk and Alice had to be up in a few hours for work. It would make sense to me that they fell asleep pretty quickly, and then that's when their killer or killers struck. Now, whether the perpetrator or perpetrators was already in the house or not is unknown. Alice's children feel like this seemed planned or professional. That's how Brinky put it. They also said that Ralph often carried a gun and had a gun in the house. No matter how or what happened. A clear suspect and motive eluded police. According to Detective Pender, Alice didn't have any criminal history and Ralph didn't have anything too serious. The MO of this crime didn't fit the two victims at the center of it. So who out there wanted to harm them? Like so many investigations, this one started by looking at those closest to the victims. And when police learned that Ralph was still married when he was dating Alice, that raised more than a few eyebrows. But it's not nearly as salacious as it might seem. Seem he and his wife had been separated for around 10 years by that point, and Pender said they apparently had a decent arrangement the whole time. It looked like Ralph had continued to take care of her and their daughter financially throughout the separation. So at least in Pender's mind, there doesn't seem to be a lot of motive there. He said detectives interviewed the wife and ruled her out as a suspect. But Alice's children aren't entirely convinced by the same rationale. Here's Alice's son, Jermaine, he's getting ready.

[Detective Ben Pender]

To divorce his wife because he doesn't want to take care of her anymore. She's living this high life, and all of a sudden it's going to get taken from her because he's going to divorce her and he's not going to.

[Ashley Flowers]

Pay her no more.

[Detective Ben Pender]

Kid's already grown, kids my age, his daughter. So he's not paying child support. He's not paying nothing.

[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

He's going to cut her off.

[Ashley Flowers]

According to Alice's children, their mother had also found what sounds like an anonymous threatening letter at Ralph's house that their mother assumed was written by Ralph's wife. Alice's children also claimed that Ralph had a significant life insurance policy, although Detective Pender could not confirm anything regarding that. Ralph also appeared to own several properties, at least one of which Alice's children lived in. And after Ralph died, they claimed the wife quickly made a move. Here's Jermaine again.

[Detective Ben Pender]

Immediately she was there with the lawyers, scooped up everything, kicked us right out, not even a warning. Took everything, put it together and sold it.

[Ashley Flowers]

But how much the wife controlled Ralph's assets and benefited from his death remains unclear. Ralph had a will. According to Alice's children, Ralph's daughter and son from another relationship appeared to have been the beneficiaries. But Alice's children believe Ralph's wife got it all at the end of the day, as they were technically still married when Ralph died. But her children's speculations aside, Ralph's wife has never been charged in this case. As far as police were concerned, there's no proof she's connected to this crime. She's not the only one Alice's children are suspicious of or at least believe warrants a closer look. The other person they point to is a business partner who they say Ralph had been arguing with over money just a month or so before he died. The argument that Ralph and his partner got into apparently had some witnesses. One of them was Alice's son, Frankie.

[Frankie Cisneros]

There was one time when we were working and Ralph and the business partner were arguing to where they almost got in a fight, where me and my brothers were kind of going up there, like, what's going on? Like, you know, kind of getting Ralph's back or whatnot. And later on, I kind of heard or found out what it was actually about.

[Ashley Flowers]

Some of Alice's sons worked for Ralph, so they knew a little bit about his business. And they heard that the business partner had allegedly been skimming money off the top, basically stealing from the business and pocketing it But Detective Pender points out, previous investigators had combed through the company's.

[Detective Ben Pender]

Finances just hours and hours and hours have been spent just dealing with the financials, trying to figure out if there was anything there. And up to right now, we don't believe so. We just have nothing that indicates that it had to do with the business at this point.

[Ashley Flowers]

While Pender wouldn't get into specifics about what the financials showed, he did say that they interviewed this business partner multiple times and that they felt he was able to account for his whereabouts around the time of the murder. And like Ralph's wife, this partner has never been charged in connection to this case. So that left police exactly where they started without a suspect. If the answer to this mystery didn't lie in the time leading up to their deaths, maybe they needed to look even further back. Everyone's got a thing, whether it's vinyl records, sneakers, or sports memorabilia. And talking to people about how you found them on ebay can quickly become your whole personality. Even at 2am when you can't get your obsession off your mind, you're on ebay for sure. Scrolling your favorite sellers storefront, setting search alerts, building the watch list of your literal dreams, and making everyone in the group chat jealous. Maybe you've even gotten your bestie onto ebay too. And it's pretty likely that when they found out that they could get their favorite thing and for a good deal too, well, it's game over. And if vinyl records, the newest sneaker drops, and sports memorabilia aren't your thing, the best part about ebay is that it doesn't matter what you're into. Designer watches, car parts, vintage furniture. It's all there. You might just discover your next passion on ebay too. So go find the things that keep you up at night. Ebay. Things people love. For a gift that is always on time and lasts a lifetime, you can't do better than Masterclass. Masterclass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 plus of the world's best instructors. Learn from any Masterclass instructor anywhere on a smartphone, computer, smart tv, or even in audio mode. With Masterclass, your loved ones can learn from the best to become their best. And listen, you're clearly a crime junkie. I bet you have crime junkies in your life. They have masterclasses from people like John Douglas, one of the fathers of the Bauer. I mean, take it from me, in another life, I wanted to be a profiler. Well, welcome to Masterclass. In this life, I can be Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com deck for the current offer. That's up to 50% [e-mail] deck masterclass.com deck Police discovered that Ralph's house had been robbed way back in 2009, a robbery that Alice's children claimed was committed by a former employee of Ralph's who lived with him. Here's Pender again.

[Detective Ben Pender]

I do remember that being looked into at the time, and they didn't believe at the time that that part of it was connected to what had happened here.

[Ashley Flowers]

It wasn't just this robbery that police didn't feel was connected. They were confident that Ralph and Alice's murder wasn't connected to other crimes in the area either. According to Detective Pender, this crime felt personal. Yet strangely, they weren't finding evidence that anyone directly connected to the couple committed it. So if they were going to get a break in this case, maybe some of that stuff that they sent off for testing could help them out. Now, they'd already gotten the cell phone data back, but that hadn't led anywhere.

[Detective Ben Pender]

We were able to track everything and everybody down that, you know, they were in communication with and verify information. So none of the phone information provided us a lead as far as a potential suspect goes.

[Ashley Flowers]

Same went for whatever else they collected. Nothing was coming from it? Well, nothing that solved the case, but there was a glimmer of hope. Pender says they do have a DNA sample now. From where? How good? When was it found? Who's been compared? I wish I could tell you, but this is their golden ticket that they think will solve the case, and they don't want to give anything away too soon.

[Detective Ben Pender]

I would say on the record that DNA was collected in this case, and it has been processed to what degree it can be processed. And we're still investigating and working on what we have with that.

[Ashley Flowers]

About a year and a half after the murders, tragedy struck Alice's children once more when their youngest brother, Mario, took his own life.

[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

I knew when he passed away because, like, my soul just left my body.

[Ashley Flowers]

What many people forget in all this is the devastation that follows for a victim's family. They're left to pick up the pieces that can really never be put back together, no matter how hard they try.

[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

He was crying one day, and it just literally broke my heart because I walked in his room and he was so sad. I asked him what was wrong, and he's all like, I miss mom, and I just Grabbed him and I hugged him and I told him, I'm sorry. I go, I'm not mom, but I promise to do. Everything that mom tried to do for you.

[Ashley Flowers]

All family had to hold onto was that one day their mother's murder would be solved, hoping somehow that would finally bring them peace. But time was not their friend. As the years continued to tick by, nothing happened. And as much time as they've spent on it over the years, as many hours as they've worked, Pender admits that this case is pretty much at a standstill.

[Detective Ben Pender]

It has been quite a while since we received a tip in this particular case. But again, that doesn't stop us from what we're doing. You know, if somebody has information, we're going to follow up on it and either include it or exclude it. But as of late, no, we have not had any current tips coming in.

[Ashley Flowers]

When our reporters asked Alice's daughter Jenna, if she had a message for those involved in this crime, she said this.

[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

I think about that every day, and it keeps changing every day. But my main. Why?

[Ashley Flowers]

Why my mom?

[Jenna (Alice's daughter)]

You know, I always think of sitting in court and having that person there and having this letter that I can read to them. But it changes because it goes from hate, then it goes to sadness, then it goes to like me thinking about, why did he do this? What was going on in his life that he had to do this? You know what I mean? I really can't answer that because it changes every day. Every day it changes for me. And that's one thing I think about every day. I do want to say that Pender, he's amazing, and I do thank him from the bottom of my heart for continuing to do what he does for me and my family and my mom and Ralph.

[Ashley Flowers]

Detective Pender is determined to solve this case for Ralph and Alice's families. Still, he knows he'll need some help, either through future testing of evidence or from someone listening to this right now.

[Detective Ben Pender]

I always encourage people, if they have any information, to obviously come forward if anybody's listening to this. I believe in these types of cases and what I mean by these types of cases, cases that have been unsolved for a number of years, I think relationships change. I think family structures change. There's a lot of things that change as we get older. Maybe it was something that somebody had done when they were younger that they now hopefully regret and maybe want to speak up or have heard something about this. So those are really the people that I'm looking for, is somebody that may have some information on this case.

[Ashley Flowers]

If you have any information about the murders of Ralph Salazar and Alice Griego in December of 2012 in White City, Utah, please contact Salt Lake County Sheriff's Detective Ben Pender. His number is 385-468-9816. We'll also put his email in the Show Notes the Deck is an Audio Chuck production with theme music by Ryan Lewis. To learn more about the Deck and our advocacy work, Visit the Deck podcast.com so what do you think Chuck? Do you approve.

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