SPECIAL REPORT: Four unsolved homicide cases from 2022 still unsolved

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - There are still four murders from 2022 that remain unsolved in Yuma County. 

News 11’s Samantha Byrd tracks down the open homicide cases from last year, to help make sure they don’t go cold.

2022 was an active year for homicides in Yuma.

“The Sheriff’s Office did see an increase in the total number of homicides, which has been more than we’ve seen in the recent past,” said Lieutenant Sam Pavlak, Yuma County Sheriff's Office (YCSO) Investigations Commander.

In 2022 the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office investigated nine homicides.

“Of those nine homicides, there were 10 total victims. Currently, there are only two of those cases that remain unsolved at this time,” said Pavlak.

Both unsolved cases happened on September 22nd of last year, a triple homicide.

Yuma County deputies are investigating three murders, all three discovered on the same day.

On Mojave lane, right off 8th street was where one person was found with gunshot wounds. 

The victim was later identified as 45-year-old Juan Luna-Montijo.

And within ten minutes of that shooting, on the other side of town near Somerton, YCSO received a call about two bodies found shot on the side of the road near County 13th Street Avenue F. 

The victims were identified as 28-year-old Kristin Carrillo and 31-year-old Daniel Herrera Jr.

For months it was unknown if the two cases were related.

“The homicides that occurred on Mojave Lane and county 13th Street and Avenue F were very closely related in time, as far as when the sheriff’s office received those calls. So we were processing two homicide scenes simultaneously and it was later determined that they were in fact related,” said Pavlak.

Now, five months later, both investigations are still ongoing.

And meanwhile, in the city, the Yuma Police Department (YPD) had four homicide cases in 2022, with five victims 

Two of those are still open.

“One was a lady who was shot in the back of a pickup truck and the other one was the Sutton case, the man on the bicycle,” said Sergeant Lori Franklin from the Yuma Police Department.

The Yuma Police Department identified the man as 41-year-old Guillermo Sutton who was here on 12th Street and 6th Avenue stopped on his bicycle when he was shot. 

The day after Sutton’s death his mother posted this photo on Facebook.

She then sent us a statement saying she feels like her son needs justice.

And now, almost one year later, Sutton’s death remains a mystery. 

But why is that?

“You can’t really judge on how many are solved or unsolved, a lot of it depends on if there are any witnesses, will witnesses come forward and speak to us? That’s kind of one of the problems, people are in fear of retaliation," said Franklin.

Both YPD and YCSO tell me witnesses are not required to talk to them. 

Making these cases much more difficult to solve. 

“There’s some cases where we really believe a friend or family member knows something, but they’re not talking,” said Franklin.

But it’s not too late for you to help solve one of these cases. 

“Even if you don’t think it was important and you were around in an area where something happened, call us and let us know what it is. We’re going to look into every little thing that comes in. You don’t know if your tip is going to help, and it could help,” said Franklin.

This is the memorial of just one of the victims of an unsolved homicide case from last year.

If you have any information that could lead to solving any of these cases, call the Yuma Police Department or the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, and if you’d like to remain anonymous dial 78-CRIME.