The Murder of Vanessa Romero

 

Vanessa Romero had big aspirations for her life during June 2010. 

The 18-year-old was living in Tucson, Arizona and was raising an infant daughter. Vanessa had plans to finish both her GED and a teen parenting class she had been taking. Her long-term plan was to eventually join the Army to make a living for herself and her child. However, before doing that, Vanessa also hoped to donate a kidney to her mother, who needed a transplant and was on full dialysis. 

Unfortunately, none of these aspirations would come to fruition, as Vanessa was found deceased at Lakeside Park on the morning of June 16th, 2010. Reports state that Vanessa was found with "obvious signs of trauma" to her body. Although her exact cause of death has never been released to the public, investigators quickly revealed that her manner of death was homicide. 

According to her mother, Vanessa received a phone call around 7:00 PM on June 15th, during which she reportedly argued with the person on the other end of the line. Vanessa's mother said she does not know who Vanessa was speaking with, but believes it was a man she had met a few weeks prior and had just began dating. About an hour and a half later, Vanessa told her mother she was going to go to Dairy Queen to get ice cream and then go to the park.

The following morning, Vanessa's mother was notified that Vanessa's body had been found at Lakeside Park. Vanessa's loved ones were immediately filled with both devastation and questions. Her mother stated that she does not know why Vanessa decided to go to Lakeside Park, located over 10 miles away from her home, when there are other parks much closer to the residence. 

Investigators soon learned that a man had seen Vanessa at the park on the evening June 15th. Said man shared this information with a clerk at a convenience store located less than a mile away from Lakeside Park. The man told the clerk that Vanessa was "having an argument with somebody in the park." The clerk later shared this information with investigators; they subsequently made a public appeal for this customer to come forward. Investigators have never actually revealed if this man ever spoke with them and/or provided any information that brought them any closer to finding Vanessa's killer(s). 

Two years after Vanessa's murder, it was reported that police had questioned the man Vanessa was dating at the time of her death, but reportedly "nothing resulted from that." This man has never been publicly identified, nor has he ever been labeled a suspect. Since that 2012 report, there has been minimal reporting on Vanessa's case.

The murder of Vanessa Romero is classified as an unsolved cold case. There is a monetary reward available in exchange for information that could lead to the arrest/conviction of Vanessa's killer(s). If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Pima County Sheriff's Office at (520) 351-4600 or submit a tip online.

-
Sources:
13 News (2), (3)
88-Crime
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson Weekly