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KCBD Investigates: FBI report details new information in New Mexico murder, kidnapping case

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KCBD Investigates: FBI report details new information in New Mexico murder, kidnapping case


LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The KCBD Investigates Team has obtained court documents that provide additional details about the murder and kidnapping case in Clovis, New Mexico.

At about 4:25 p.m. on May 4, law enforcement received a call about bodies found at the Ned Houk Memorial Park in Clovis.

Law enforcement identified the women as 23-year-old Taryn Allen and 23-year-old Samantha Harley Cisneros.

Law enforcement also found Cisneros’ five-year-old daughter in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her head.

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The KCBD Investigates Team confirmed she remains in critical condition at a Lubbock hospital, but we’re told she is stable.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: KCBD Investigates: Arrest warrant details suspect’s motive in Clovis kidnapping, double homicide

According to FBI Special Agent Matthew Frye’s affidavit, Allen and Cisneros were found with multiple gunshot wounds. He stated Cisneros had additional injuries to her legs and back that looked like she had been hit and dragged by a vehicle.

While at the scene, law enforcement found a baby bottle and a stroller at the park, but they could not find a baby.

Law enforcement searched Cisneros’ vehicle and found a receipt to a nearby dollar store from earlier in the day.

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Officers reviewed the dollar store’s surveillance video and confirmed Cisneros’ 10-month-old daughter, Eleia Maria Torres, was with her mother and big sister that day.

Law enforcement issued an Amber Alert for Torres.

At the scene, officers reported they found 9 mm handgun casings and a sideview mirror from the driver’s side of a maroon colored Honda.

Witnesses told law enforcement they drove by Ned Houk Memorial Park between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and said they saw a maroon car at the park and it looked like the driver was talking with the women.

Officers collected video surveillance from a McDonald’s near the park which showed a maroon Honda with a Texas license plate in the drive-thru lane around 2:40 p.m.

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Officers contacted the owner of the vehicle who said he had rented the car to 26-year-old Alik Isaiah Collins through a car rental website.

The owner of the vehicle worked with law enforcement to use the car’s GPS monitoring system to track Collins.

Prior to the shooting, GPS showed the vehicle had traveled from Houston, where Collins lives, to Clovis, New Mexico.

The data also showed the vehicle at the park entrance at about 3:29 p.m.

Then, at 3:38 p.m., the vehicle left at speeds of up to 96 miles per hour, avoiding major highways as it headed east.

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At 10:52 p.m., the vehicle arrived at a home in Abilene, Texas, that is about 270 miles from Clovis.

The vehicle continued to ping at that home through May 5 at 7:43 p.m.

At that point, the owner of the vehicle reported the car as stolen and remotely disabled it while it was still at the Abilene home.

The vehicle’s owner also gave law enforcement Collins’ cell phone number, which they say showed Collins to have been at the park on the day and time of the murders.

On May 5, 2024, and into May 6, 2024, law enforcement officers with the FBI and the Abilene Texas Police Department Narcotics Unit began conducting ground surveillance at the home.

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At approximately 1:15 a.m. on May 6, law enforcement observed a black male pushing the maroon Honda out of the garage and into the street.

During the early morning hours of May 6, 2024, while law enforcement was preparing to execute a search warrant at the residence, they observed an Uber driver operating a Cadillac SUV arrive on the street in front of the home.

A black male, later determined to be Collins, exited the residence carrying a baby.

According to the undercover officers, Collins placed the baby on the rear passenger seat of the SUV and got into the front passenger seat.

That is when officers said Collins carjacked the Uber driver at gunpoint, and forced him out of the vehicle.

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Then, officers said Collins drove away with the baby still in the car.

The Abilene Police Department reported Collins intentionally rammed into a police vehicle as they attempted to stop him.

Officers pinned the vehicle, forcing it to stop.

They took Collins into custody and recovered baby Torres who was uninjured.

Law enforcement reported finding a Glock handgun loaded with 9 mm ammunition on the floorboard of the vehicle.

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The FBI confirmed Collins is not the parent, grandparent, brother, or uncle of this child, and does not have legal custody of the baby.

During this investigation, the FBI reported they had communicated with Collins last year.

The FBI reported Collins had called in September 2023 and said he wanted help finding his daughter.

During this phone call, the FBI reported he made threatening statements so they called in local law enforcement.

The FBI stayed on the phone with Collins until the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office arrived and took Collins in for a mental health evaluation.

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The following month, on October 10, 2023, Collins called the FBI again and reported if law enforcement did not assist him with locating his missing five-year-old daughter, he would “start killing people and children.”

Collins stated that at one point he had kidnapped a woman and her son and then sent a picture of the kidnapped individuals to the FBI to pressure law enforcement to assist with locating his daughter.

The FBI reported Collins was intoxicated and could not provide his child’s true name but referred to her as “Rebecca.” He could not provide the child’s mother’s name either.

During these conversations, Collins said he did not have a weapon and did not intend to hurt anyone, but he made the threats to draw attention so law enforcement could help him find his daughter.

A second referral was made to local law enforcement who attempted contact with Collins but was unsuccessful.

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A National Instant Criminal Background System alert was put in place to notify law enforcement if Collins attempted to purchase a firearm.

Additionally, Collins was prohibited from purchasing firearms in Texas as a result of his mental health evaluation.

At this time, the KCBD Investigates Team is working to learn how Collins got a gun.

We are also working to learn if there is any connection to Collins and the victims.

A public defender has been assigned to this case.

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Loved ones of Allen and Cisneros have set up GoFundMe accounts to help pay for their funeral expenses.

According to Muffley Funeral Home’s website, Cisneros’ family is gathering at The Chapel Thursday, May 16 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Services will take place Friday, May 17 at noon with a burial following at Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens in Clovis.

The website states a visitation for Allen will be held on Saturday, May 18 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at The Chapel located at 1500 Thornton Street in Clovis, New Mexico.

A celebration of life will follow at 6 p.m. at Hillcrest Park located at 1001 Sycamore Street.

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New Mexico Environment Department to hold hearings on Project Jupiter air quality

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New Mexico Environment Department to hold hearings on Project Jupiter air quality





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UNM plans to build new gates along Central

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UNM plans to build new gates along Central


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico plans to build new gates at four campus entrances along Central that will close nightly.

The gates will replace manual barriers in a project expected to cost about $1.5 million.

The Board of Regents approved the security upgrades for the UNM campus.

University officials said the gates will automatically close nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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The gates will go in near Princeton Drive, Stanford Drive, Yale Boulevard and Terrace Street on the south end of campus.

A current rendering shows the gate completely blocking the road. Officials said the change will reduce unauthorized traffic and allow police officers to focus more effectively on prevention and response.

Construction will start in May. University officials hope to finish the project by September.



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9-year-old who pleaded to go to spelling bee is released from ICE detention

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9-year-old who pleaded to go to spelling bee is released from ICE detention


A 9-year-old boy who begged to be released from an immigration detention center so he could attend his state spelling bee has been freed with his family, their lawyer said Wednesday.

Deiver Henao Jimenez made the plea during a video call this month with children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso.

“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Deiver said on the call, which was later shared on Accurso’s social media pages. “Nothing is good here.”

He and his parents, asylum-seekers from Colombia, had been held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas since early March, when they were detained during a routine immigration check-in in New Mexico, according to their lawyer, Corey Sullivan Martin.

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ICE freed the family on humanitarian parole Wednesday, about a week after Martin filed a request for their release and days after NBC News reported on their case.

Deiver Henao Jimenez finished third in a Spanish spelling bee organized by Las Cruces, N.M., Public Schools.Las Cruces Public Schools

His elementary school principal wrote a letter in mid-March supporting the family’s release, which was later delivered to immigration officials, describing Deiver as “a dedicated student with excellent attendance and high marks.”

Sullivan Martin said Deiver is eager to return to school, rejoin his gifted and talented classes and get back to practicing his spelling words.

“I don’t see how it was necessary at all to detain a child who was doing exactly what we want children to do,” Sullivan Martin said.

The family planned to return to New Mexico, she said, where they will continue checking in with immigration officials while their case proceeds.

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The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Deiver was released a day after ICE freed another child whose case drew widespread attention following a video call with Accurso. Gael, a 5-year-old boy with developmental disabilities, had experienced worsening medical issues while he was detained at Dilley, his parents said.

The facility has faced growing scrutiny from immigration lawyers and advocates, who say children there have struggled to access adequate medical care and education in an environment where lights remain on around the clock and officers stand guard. Some families have described poor food and long waits for medical attention.

DHS has disputed those accounts, saying families are provided appropriate care in a facility designed for their needs.

After her video meetings with the children, Accurso — known for her signature pink headband and singsong delivery — called for Dilley to be shut down and for families to be returned to their communities.

During their conversation, Deiver told Accurso he missed his friends and said the food at Dilley made his stomach hurt. But he was most worried about getting out in time to compete in New Mexico’s state spelling bee in May after he earned a spot by placing third at a regional competition.

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“We’re trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee,” Accurso said last week. “I just never thought those words would go together.”





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