Arizona : Amberly Mendoza
Photo: AmberlysPlace.com
This week we are navigating advocacy in Yuma, Arizona, known for its unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty, is a city with a rich heritage and a vibrant community. Situated in the southwestern corner of the state, Yuma is characterized by its arid desert climate, with scorching summers and mild winters. And even though Florida is the Sunshine state, his city is famous for being the "Sunniest Place on Earth." There are more than 4,000 hours of sunshine annually. That's 91% of the year.
Yuma's historical significance lies in its role as a key crossing point on the Colorado River during the westward expansion, and it's home to attractions like the Yuma Territorial Prison and the Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park, which offers a glimpse into the Old West. With a strong agricultural presence, thanks to its fertile soil and access to the Colorado River, Yuma is often referred to as the "Winter Lettuce Capital of the World." It was also considered the gateway to California.
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Every community, including Yuma, faces its own set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to crime and justice.
Neighborhood Scout.com reports Yuma being safer than 15 % of US neighborhoods. Your chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 207. In the 1990s, when this story takes place, Yuma had a population of around 57,000 people. In the thirty years since, it has nearly doubled in size.
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Amberly Ann Mendoza was a bright young girl who loved to rollerblade around her neighborhood and spend time with her family. She was a fourth grader at Valley Horizon Elementary School who loved eating pizza and drawing pictures. She absolutely loved shoes. She would always try and talk her mom into wearing her high heels to the park.
Amberly never shied away from a challenge. Her mother challenged her to read 10 books by the end of the day and she would be rewarded with being able to watch the movie “Pocahontas”. Even though she didn’t get all 10 books read, her mother let her watch the movie anyway.
March 8, 1996, was seemingly a day like any other for 10 year old Amberly. She was out of school on break and spent much of the time outdoors. The family was in preparation for a barbeque. Some reports stated it was in celebration of a family member’s birthday but I wasn’t able to find the specifics.
Amberly’s older sister, Jordan, and aunt ran to the store for some supplies for the get together. When they returned home, there was an unknown car parked in the driveway seemingly staring at the house. When Jordan and Amberly’s aunt did not recognize the man driving the car and once the driver realized the two women were watching him, he pulled away.
They shook off the strange feelings this man left behind chalking it up to someone being lost or turning around or that they were just being strange. With family and friends beginning to trickle in for the get together, their concerns faded away and they started having a fun evening.
That evening Amberly played with her friends, family members, and watched the movie. The party mainly took place outside but there were many people coming and going inside the home.
Around 11:30, Amberly makes her rounds telling those at the party goodnight as she was getting tired and was putting herself to sleep. She seems like such a responsible 10 year old. Realizing she was tired and making her rounds saying her goodnights to all of her family and friends. I know my 10 year old does not pay attention to his energy levels and would probably stay awake for days if I didn’t remind him when it was time to go to bed.
Amberly goes back into her bedroom and cracks her window for a breeze. This was a regular occurrence and Amberly was well versed in how the window operated. Despite all of Amberly’s mother’s wishes, she left her bedroom window unlocked regularly. Her mother had asked her many times not to but when Amberly and her sister’s regularly disobeyed this rule because they used the window to climb in and out of the house when their mother was a little late coming home from work to unlock the door.
Amberly shared this room with her sister, but this night Jordan had gone to their grandmother’s home. Amberly was invited but she chose not to go for the sleepover this time. Some of the family members attending the party ended up staying the night at the house instead of leaving.
Amberly’s mom did not tuck her in this night as she did most nights, but trusted Amberly to put herself to bed.
The next morning on March 9, Amberly’s mom yells out around 11 am for Amberly. She did not receive a response and assumed the fun loving girl had just stepped outside to rollerblade in the neighborhood as she had done thousands of times before.
Amberly’s mom walked over to the front door and again yells out. After receiving no response again, her mother walks back into the house, getting a bit frustrated as to why her daughter isn’t responding to her shouts. She opened the door to Amberly’s room and discovered Amberly’s lifeless body.
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She immediately contacted law enforcement and within minutes they arrived at the home in the 17000 block of 24th Lane.
All members of the family were questioned and Jordan was asked if anyone in her family had ever touched her inappropriately, and as a child she was very confused as to why the police were honing in so much on her family. The party was still happening at the house where Amberly was attacked but no one heard or saw anything.
The Arizona Republic postulated that the murderer could have entered the home through Amberly’s cracked window.
Amberly’s body was taken in for an autopsy the following Monday where it was discovered that she had been sexually assaulted and suffocated to death with her own pillow. The timeline of Amberly’s death correlates with the same time as the party.
DNA was found on Amberly’s body and after extensive testing, it was determined that it did not match a family member.
This story is beyond a nightmare. It reminds me of Rosie Tapia. I cannot imagine how Amberly’s mother feels. Thinking your family is safe and sound in your own home. You are there just feet away and the absolute worst thing that could happen, did.
Amberly’s funeral services were held at the St. Francis of Assissi Church. As time passed, her family began to question all of the events leading up to the murder.
Photo: AmberlysPlace.com
Jordan and her aunt remembered the strange encounter with the car parked in the driveway that had sped off and wondered if it could be correlated.
Jordan also talked about how before Amberly’s murder they had seen and heard someone outside of their window at night. The window faced the street and being in an urban area, Jordan calmed Amberly and would explain it away. Amberly was adamant that someone was looking in the window but Jordan said she was imagining things. One other instance, Jordan remembers hearing a scream outside of her window and when she and Amberly went to look out, they heard two men talking about how they needed to get out of the area.
Amberly’s mother also remembered a strange event when she had separated from her husband. She had borrowed a guard dog from her uncle to help her feel a little more at ease while being home alone. One day while outside the dog started barking and as she made her way inside the house, she heard someone say “shhh” and “shut up dog”. This made her look around the yard and she thought she saw someone standing behind the tree. It was dark outside so Amberly’s mom tossed it up to her imagination playing tricks on her. I think we all have those scary moments when we imagine scary moments.
The guard dog went back to her Uncle’s home about a week before Amberly was murdered. I don’t know if this is because Amberly’s mother was feeling safe or if the Uncle just needed the dog to be returned. It could even be because of the party that was planned.
In the years since, little to no other information has been released in Amberly’s death. No advancements in her case have been announced. I am confident with the technological advancements in DNA that Amberly’s attacker could be found.
Photo: AmberlysPlace.com
If you have information related to the murder of Amberly Ann Mendoza, please contact the Yuma Police Department at 928.373.4700. Or you can remain anonymous if you call 928.782.7463. 78-CRIME is a community program designed to help bring law enforcement, news media and citizens together to combat crime. It has been almost 3 decades since Amberly was taken from her loved ones.
