The UNM Police Department is reaching out to the community for leads in the only unsolved murder in campus history.
Lisa Wortman’s body was found in a manhole June 1994 near The Pit. No solid leads have surfaced since 2006, according to UNMPD. This homicide was termed “Case of the Week” last week and the department hopes renewed interest will help solve the 17-year-old case.
A Daily Lobo report from June 9, 1994, said a man walking his dog found Wortman’s body at the bottom of a manhole. He said the dog was sniffing the area, and that when he approached it he noticed dried blood and bones around the manhole. He moved the manhole cover and discovered human hands at the bottom of it. The body was cut into 13 pieces.
The Daily Lobo reported in 2002 that at the time of her death, Lisa Wortman was no longer attending UNM, was addicted to drugs and had been arrested in the past for prostitution. The Office of the
Medical Investigator discovered traces of cocaine in her heart tissue, according to the report.
UNMPD spokesman Robert Haarhues could not be reached for comment, but told KRQE news he thinks the victim knew her killer.
“It’s almost a personal crime,” he told KRQE. “It’s not typical. If someone randomly kills someone they could have just dumped her anywhere. Because she was dismembered, they make it seem like they didn’t want her to be found. There is usually a connection there.”
Investigators hope technological advancements and community help will lead to an arrest.
