By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Nearly 40 people participated in an Internet chat room Wednesday to discuss unsolved homicides featured in a recent News-Press series.

Detectives from the Santa Barbara Police and Sheriff's departments fielded an assortment of questions and tips during the two-hour forum.

The three-part "Cold Cases" series had already generated more than 30 tips homicide detectives are still pursuing.

The chat room produced another handful of leads, including tips about suspicious neighbors.

Additionally, Cold Case Unit detectives from the Santa Barbara Police Department will use an idea spawned from the chat room in an attempt to hunt down wanted murderers who have fled to Mexico.

Within the next week, they plan to plaster wanted posters written in Spanish in areas of town where they believe the suspects may still have contacts.

In one such case, Esther Bueno Taboada, a 26-year-old mother of two, was stabbed to death in the Sears parking lot in 1992. Detectives suspect her husband, Mario Soto Taboada, killed her because she wanted a divorce. They believe he then fled to Santa Teresa, Guerrero, Mexico.

Mr. Taboada's relatives, who still live in Santa Barbara, may know his whereabouts but have offered no direction to detectives.

"If the family had any honor, they'd bring him to us," said Detective Tim Roberts, who with Detective Greg Wilkins, runs the recently formed Cold Case Unit.

"If he had any shame -- or any feelings for his girls -- he'd turn himself in," said Detective Roberts.

Esther was one of four homicide victims in the Cold Case series. The others included Lori Rosen, a 19-year-old City College student who was found strangled in her Montecito apartment in 1977; Kym Morgan, a 24-year-old Brooks Institute student who was abducted, killed and dismembered in 1985; and Frank Gomez, the 36-year-old brother of a Santa Barbara police officer, who was found stabbed to death behind the ticket office of the Santa Barbara Bowl in 1995.

The Cold Case detectives were so intrigued by the on-line approach to solving crimes that they will discuss putting together a Cold Case Web site within the next couple of weeks.

"You just never know," said Detective Roberts. "Some people may be afraid to show their face, but they can e-mail you."

Interesting questions also came out of the chat room Wednesday.

One asked: "If someone is illegal and they have information about these cases will they be deported? People may be afraid to come forward."

Detectives emphasized local police do not enforce immigration laws.

"Even if we did, we wouldn't bite the hand that feeds us," replied Detective Roberts.

The homicide victims' families also participated in the chat room.

Joel and Eloise Gomez, Frank's parents, urged: "People need to get involved if these cases are to be solved."

Julie Morgan, Kym's older sister, wrote:

"I don't know if anything will come of this — but I would sit here for two hours every day for the rest of my life if it would bring Kym's killer to justice."

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 the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department Anonymous Tipline at 681-4171. You may also call Detective Rod Forney at 684-4561 ext. 433 or Detective Vic Alvarez at ext. 424.

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.

-- DAWN HOBBS