Police following up on leads

By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

More than a dozen tips came into the Santa Barbara Police and Sheriff's departments after the News-Press ran a three-part series on unsolved killings in the county.

The special report, which began last Sunday, detailed four of the "cold cases" in the hope that people who hold missing clues would step forward and help bring the killers to justice.

"We are still in the process of calling every single person back," said Detective Tim Roberts, who runs the department's newly formed Cold Case Unit along with Detective Greg Wilkins. "We remain committed to investigate every lead for every case — for every victim's family."

Information about the leads will not be made public until they are investigated.

Also, the detectives emphasized, the identity of the tipsters will be kept confidential.

The homicide victims' families are counting on people with information to tell detectives so these cases can be solved and they can finally put their loved ones to rest.

"It's extremely important people come forward. It's essential," said Evan Morgan, the mother of Kym Morgan, 24, who was abducted and dismembered in 1985. "There's no way to bring back any of these loved ones who have been so horribly treated, but it could stop these people from killing again... There are a lot of sick people out there and somebody has to have the fortitude to stand up and say, 'Enough is enough. We are not going to put up with this anymore.'"

In addition to Kym, the series detailed the Police Department cases of Esther Bueno Taboada, 26, who was killed in the Sears parking lot in 1992; and Frank Gomez, 36, who was found stabbed to death behind the Santa Barbara Bowl in 1995. Also included was the Sheriff's Department case of Lori Rosen, 19, who was found strangled in her Montecito apartment in 1977.

In addition to the calls tipsters made to detectives, several other people passed on information through a News-Press e-mail tipline.

"The Sheriff's Department has received several calls about the case since the Rosen article came out in the News-Press series," said Lt. Gary Kitzman. "These callers have supplied information that directs detectives to acquaintances of Lori Rosen. Detectives will now be conducting follow-up interviews over the next several weeks to ascertain if these leads are viable and determine their significance to the case."

Detectives believe Kym Morgan was murdered by a serial killer. On April 28, 1985, the Brooks Institute student met a man on the Mesa in response to a classified ad she placed in the News-Press seeking a room for rent.

Kym was last seen in the parking lot of Santa Cruz Market, now Lazy Acres, with a man described as being in his early 30s with elevator shoes that brought his height to about 5 feet 6. A police bulletin identified the dark-skinned man as possibly Italian, Indian or Portuguese. He was seen getting out of a car with a white top and a blue body — either a 1979 Buick Century or an early '80s Chevrolet Caprice or Impala. Shoppers recalled a gold license plate with dark blue letters, perhaps from Oregon.

Detectives are uncertain if this man is the killer, but they suspect he may be one of the last people to see Kym alive. Four days later, her dismembered body was found in the mountains near East Camino Cielo.

Originally, Kym's big sister said it didn't matter to her whether the killer was ever found.

"But at this point, I want so much to find Kym's killer," said Julie Morgan. "But it's just so painful. I don't know that I will ever have peace."

Julie and her mother are concerned the killer didn't stop with Kym.

"I'm sure, like the police have said, that whoever killed Kym is a serial killer and this was not a one-time deal," said Mrs. Morgan. "You don't cut someone up and leave them in pieces if it's a one-time deal."

Detectives also suspect the man who killed Frank Gomez was a serial killer.

On the evening of Jan. 31, 1995, the brother of a Santa Barbara police officer left his Eastside home to meet a friend downtown. He later visited a neighbor who worked at The Pub on Helena Street. Frank was last seen leaving the bar about 9 p.m. with a gray-haired white man in his 50s.

Three hours later, his body was discovered behind the ticket office of the Santa Barbara Bowl. Detectives recently submitted a gray hair strand for DNA analysis which may reveal the killer's identity.

Eloise and Joel Gomez visit their son's grave every week at Calvary Cemetery.

"God only knows how many times he has done this since our son's murder," said Mrs. Gomez. "This person has to be brought to justice. It won't be closure — because nothing could ever bring our son back — but at least it would keep others from going through the agony and torment we've had to endure."

Mr. and Mrs. Gomez feel a connection to other victims' families.

"After reading the other articles, we just feel so much now for these other parents," Mrs. Gomez said. "We absolutely need to bring these other killers to justice, too. Our heart just reaches out to these families. We have some sort of invisible bond. We feel what they are going through."

Detectives believe Esther Bueno Taboada's killer fled to Mexico. On Feb. 29, 1992, the mother of two got off work from Sears about 8:30 p.m. She walked toward her car in the La Cumbre Plaza parking lot and came across her husband, Mario Soto Taboada.

Esther sat in his truck only minutes before police say he stabbed her in the neck. Before she died, Esther cried, "My husband did this to me!"

Esther's mother, Geronima Bueno, raised her daughter's two girls, Vanessa and Angelica. The girls, now 13 and 19, and their grandmother will not move on until Esther's killer is captured.

Mr. Taboada's relatives, who still live in Santa Barbara, may know his whereabouts, but have offered no direction to detectives. None of the suspected killer's family members could be reached for comment.

Lori Rosen had been renting a cottage on Tabor Lane for only five weeks when she decided to move back to her family's Cold Springs Road home.

When the City College student didn't show up at her mother's house Monday morning for an appointment with a make-up artist, she drove to the cottage. Patricia Rosen found her daughter dead on her bed.

Detectives believe the killer used a rock to beat Lori over the head and then strangled her. They recently reopened the case and submitted DNA evidence for testing.

"Everything has come back," said Mrs. Rosen. "It's like this whole thing has started over again. But I'm glad because I want to see this person caught... I hate to see him be free, when she isn't. She's gone.

"I need the closure. I know I do."

YOU CAN HELP

If you have information about the killing of Kym Morgan, Esther Bueno Taboada or Frank Gomez, you may call the Santa Barbara Police Department's Cold Case Unit at 897-2320 or 897-2426. You may also call the department's Anonymous Tipline at 569-COPS.

If you have information about the killing of Lori Rosen, you may call Sheriff's Detective Rod Forney at 684-4561 or the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department Tipline at 681-4171.

You can also send an e-mail about any of these cases to tipline@newspress.com.

To read the three-day series and view related materials, visit www.newspress.com and click on the Cold Case icon.

A chat room discussion with police and sheriff's homicide detectives did not go as planned Friday because of technical difficulties. It will be rescheduled soon and advance notice will be published in the newspaper.