Movie inspired by West Mesa Murders premieres in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The new movie, “Boneyard,” which is inspired by Albuquerque’s unsolved West Mesa murders premiered Friday night in the metro.

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It’s one of the most infamous stories out of Albuquerque. The co-writer of the movie ‘Boneyard’, Vincent McDaniel said his film, with big names like Mel Gibson and Curtis ’50 cent’ Jackson, loosely follows the true story of the West Mesa murders, when police found the buried bodies of 11 women on the West Mesa in 2009. “We’re here to help the families get closure and hopefully we can find the golden tip to help solve this case,” said McDaniel at Friday night’s premiere.

Eleanor Griego is the mother of one of the murdered women, Julie Nieto. She’s hoping the movie will finally lead to the killer. “Finding closure so we can move on in our lives. Right now, I have no trust in anybody. I’m always looking behind me and I want it to close.”

The film’s director said a documentary is also in the works which goes into more detail of the true events. “We’re really trying to tell the true story now. The film ‘Boneyard’ brought awareness to the global audience about this case and other cases and now they’re going to be able to see the true story in the documentary that’s in production,” said the film’s director Asif Akbar.

Families of some of the victims at Friday night’s premiere said they hope the story will be a reminder to never stop looking for answers. “Not only is it going to bring more awareness, but it’s going to help bring more information on who my mom was as an individual,” said Skyler Romero-Cruz, the daughter of Veronica Romero.

Boneyard can be watched on streaming services.

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