Luis Mariscal-Lopez, Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping, New Mexico 2018

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – Luis Mariscal-Lopez, 25, of Espanola, New Mexico, is facing the consequences of his heinous crime after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Mariscal-Lopez, along with his co-conspirators Jorge Dominguez and Crystal Ramos, devised a plan to kidnap, assault, and murder Jane Doe in January 2018. The motive behind this brutal crime was that Jane Doe had stolen and used Crystal Ramos’ ATM card.

According to court records, the group lured Jane Doe from Buffalo Thunder Casino to Ramos’ house within the exterior boundaries of Santa Clara Pueblo. When Jane Doe entered the house, the group assaulted her, tied her to a chair, and confined her to a bedroom. Mariscal-Lopez and Dominguez, along with the others, continued to assault Jane Doe with various objects, including a rifle butt and an axe handle, strangled her, and Ramos used a drill in her side until Jane Doe died.

The group then wrapped Jane Doe’s body in plastic and loaded it into the trunk of a car. A few days later, they attempted to dismember Jane Doe’s body with a chainsaw but were unsuccessful. Instead, they dug two shallow pits and set Jane Doe’s remains on fire. However, when they noticed a helicopter in the air near their location, they extinguished the fire, moved Jane Doe’s remains to a toolbox, and drove back to the house, where they poured concrete over her remains and left it stored in the garage.

Jane Doe’s case was initially investigated as a missing person case. A detective interviewed Ramos about Jane Doe’s disappearance in March 2018. Following the interview, the toolbox was removed from Ramos’ house and buried near the Rio Ojo Caliente, north of Espanola. Statements made to law enforcement during an unrelated investigation led to the recovery of Jane Doe’s partial remains.

Johnny Black, another co-conspirator, had previously pleaded guilty to using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and being an accessory after the fact in relation to the disposal of Jane Doe’s remains. He was sentenced to 171 months in prison.

Crystal Ramos died in a shootout with police in Denver, Colorado on June 14, 2018.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Espanola Police Department, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Bureaus of Indian Affairs, and New Mexico State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas J. Marshall and Caitlin L. Dillon are prosecuting the case.

Mariscal-Lopez will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

This case is a grim reminder of the devastating consequences of conspiracy and violence. We hope that justice is served and that the family of Jane Doe receives closure.

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