AZ Endangered Missing Toddler: Jennifer Murillo Perez
07.18.09: Jennifer has been located safe. Suspect charged with kidnapping, molestation, child endangerment.
Original Post: July 18, 2009Last Updated: July 19, 2009View Sources
According to Jennifer’s mother, Minorva Murillo, she was doing laundry in the laundry room of a mobile home park near Ironwood Drive and Apache Trail while her children played outside nearby. It was approximately 11:30 p.m. Friday night. She heard Jennifer cry out and she ran outside to check on her. Jennifer was not with the other children, when asked where she was, the children said they did not know. Police were called and they searched door-to-door within the confines of the mobile home park. Pinal County Sheriff’s came to aide in the search. Bloodhounds have been used to search the area for Jennifer without results.
According to Police Chief Jerald Monahan:
“This young person has been missing for a long time now.”…”She was in an open area. Foul play hasn’t been ruled out.”1
Pictured to the left is the area where the children were playing at the time of Jennifer’s disappearance. Although, admittedly, not a very great place for children to be playing at 11:30 p.m. there are not too many places she could be hiding. I can’t imagine someone coming along and snatching her without at least one of the other children seeing it happen. I keep looking at that picture and I wonder if she is trapped behind or underneath that dumpster on the left. Surely searchers must have looked there. I suppose someone could have snatched Jennifer and took her somewhere without the kids seeing the abduction. The other alternative is the mother is lying about what happened to her daughter. However, I am sure police have verified that Jennifer was in fact outside playing with them at some point last night.
Victim: Jennifer Murillo Perez
Jennifer is a 2 1/2-year-old Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes. She is 2’5″ tall and weighs approximately 30lbs. Jennifer was last seen on Friday July 17, 2009 at 11:30 p.m. in the vicinity of the laundry room of a mobile home park near Ironwood Drive and Apache Trail. When last seen Jennifer was wearing a blue dress and pink sandals.2
Anyone with information about Jennifer’s disappearance is asked to call the Apache Junction Criminal Investigation Department at 480-982-8260.
July 19, 2009: 10:30 p.m. PST
There is more information regarding the alleged kidnapping and molestation suspect and how he was located. Jennifer’s mother went to the laundry room at about 10:30 p.m. Friday to put clothes in the washer and dryer. At that time she noticed a man hanging around the laundry room area talking on a cell phone. When Jennifer’s mother returned to the laundry room at 11:30 p.m. she no longer saw the man in the area. Holtz was at the mobile home park attending a party that night. He was asked to leave and that is when Jennifer’s mother saw him hanging around the laundry room. During the course of the investigation police suspected Holtz was the male spotted in the area. When shown a photograph of Holtz, Jennifer’s mother identified him as the male hanging around the laundry room. Police went to Holtz’ home located a mile away from the mobile home park and they located Jennifer in a back bedroom. Police say Holtz has given them no good or plausible reason for his actions. They have had contact with him in the past but not for such a serious offense. Holtz has been charged with kidnapping, molestation and child endangerment. There is no information about his arraignment. He is being held without bond in Pinal County Jail.3
July 19, 2009: 4:30 p.m. PST
Police announced today that the suspect, Alec Holtz, molested Jennifer while she was missing. She was taken to the hospital to be examined after she was located. I am guessing the examination revealed evidence of molestation. I doubt the suspect confessed to the molestation. I wonder if he drugged her. I am only saying that because when Jennifer was found police said she was in good spirits when they located her on Saturday. The news sources keep stating that Holtz is known to the family but not a relative. You just can’t trust anyone to be around your children nowadays.4
July 18, 2009: 10:30 p.m. PST
The identity of Jennifer’s alleged kidnapper has been released to the press. He is twenty-one-year-old Alec Holtz. There is no further information about this individual.
I checked the sex offender registry and he does not appear on it. I checked on MySpace and there is one Alec Holtz, age 21, who says he lives in Apache Junction, Arizona. There is no photograph. He says he is in a relationship but leaves his text number if you want to get to know him. The most disturbing part is he states he is a firefighter. It is disturbing to think that a firefighter would abduct a child. Of course, that is if the Alec Holtz on MySpace is the same Alec Holtz who is currently facing kidnapping charges.5
July 18, 2009: 6:30 p.m. PST
Jennifer was found late this afternoon unharmed in the home of a person known to the family but not a family member. The suspect was taken into custody. There is no further information at this time regarding the identify of the suspect.6 If there is further information I will be sure to post it here. Thank God, she was found safe.
- Deborah Stocks and Tim Vetscher, Apache Junction Toddler Goes Missing with Mother Nearby, ABC15.com, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
- Missing Poster: JENNIFER MURILLO PEREZ, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
- Mike Sakal, A.J. Man Arrested in Kidnapping, East Valley Tribune, Last Accessed: July 19, 2009. [↩]
- Deborah Stocks, Tim Vetscher and Brent Roulier, PD: Kidnapped Apache Junction Child Molested by 21-Year-Old, ABC15.com, Last Accessed: July 19, 2009. [↩]
- Possible Alec Holtz MySpace Page, MySpace.com, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
- Deborah Stocks and Tim Vetscher, Missing Apache Junction Girl Found Safe, Suspect Arrested, ABC15.com, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
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hey i happen to be a friend of alec's and yes he was a volunteer firefighter for apache junciton… what i find very unusual about all of this is he had a picture of this girl and told me her name was Isabell. this picture he kept in his truck on the dash next to the steering wheel. he always told me that her mother was a trucker and watches her every time she has to leave for work… i dont know, its all so strange to me…
krysten
19 Jul 09 at 11:21 pm
Hi Krysten,
Really…I think this case will get stranger as the days go by. I haven't read anything about her mother being a trucker. What I did read today was the mother told police she had noticed someone hanging around earlier in the evening. Now, according to the news Alec was visiting someone in the mobile home park when he allegedly abducted Jennifer. Perhaps your friend has become attached to this little girl for some reason. Jennifer was taken to the hospital to be examined today. Of course, that is the usual course of action after a child has been kidnapped.
tabloidtrisha
19 Jul 09 at 11:28 pm
that kind of disgused me because he wanted children of his own… i just dont see him to be the kind of person to do something like that. none of this is making sense to me. i met Alec through my boyfriend. they use to work together at kfc. He helped me move and has even been introduced to alot of people close to me. I just dont see Alec as being that kind of a person… I DONT GET IT!!!!
krysten
19 Jul 09 at 11:35 pm
Krysten,
I just updated the post. The police announced that Alec molested Jennifer while he had her. Like I said before, they took Jennifer to the hospital to have her examined. As I said in my update, I doubt he confessed to molesting her.
tabloidtrisha
19 Jul 09 at 11:47 pm
i dont think that he molested her. that just doesnt seem to be in his nature. but most definately if all this is true, i will never be able to be in his presence again. this is horrible and im still in shock that the guy i thought i knew is really not him at all…. hmm….something is not right
krysten
20 Jul 09 at 2:09 am
I CANT BELEVE I DATED THIS GUY! i know krysten and alec very well. when alec was dating me he showed me that picture that he kept on the dash board of his truck (that probably still has the damage from that accident) what i dont understand is that he told me that little girls name was Isabelle and he watched her while her mom was a trucker and had to go to work. then when we broke up and we were still friends, i asked him "Do you have a new girlfriend and long time no talk dude" and he said "yes her name is jennifer." what i beleive is that Isabelle name was a cover up. I think he has been molosting her all along. but then again the little girl woulda said something about it because they dont lie.
Amanda
20 Jul 09 at 9:07 am
I have lived in Apache Junction for one year now and am growing increasingly concerned about the number of Sexual Predator announcements and arrests for molestation that appear in the local papers. Not that I don't want it reported but why are there so many living in this area? I think we are becoming a dumping ground for registered sex offenders, and that is putting the citizens of Apache Junction at higher risk. What can we do to find out and, if it's true, how do we go about changing that?
BluIze61-in-AZ
20 Jul 09 at 3:57 pm
I'm not aware of the victim's family situation or their first language but I am also concerned for the Spanish speaking community that they may not get or understand the sex offender notices. In the "Round 'em Up and Ship 'em Off" mentality that exists today regarding undocumented people, some Spanish speakers may be extremely hesitant to report crimes agains them. IF that were the situation here, the child could have gone on to be molested repeatedly and/or the perpetrator allowed to go on to the next victim.
The public policies we support may be to our own detriment. Let immigration handle locating undocumented people and allow the police and sheriff's departments to go about handling public safety. I'm not against criminals being deported but victims should not fear that they will be deported should they report a crime.
Again, I am not aware nor am I suggesting that the family involved here was undocumented. I'm using this situation to voice my opinion (as unpopular as it may be to some).
BluIze61-n-AJ
20 Jul 09 at 3:57 pm
Most pedofiles do not seem like the kind to do what they do, that's why they are successful at it. They are often diagnosed with an Antisocial or other personality disorder. They can be very charming and charismatic but they do not believe that the rules apply to them. I'm not suggesting this person is guilty until proven innocent but I want to impress upon people that public behavior is not a good indication of whether or not someone is a child molester. The belief that child molesters lurk in dark places, look odd and act "funny" is what allows so many predators to get away with it.
NotAVictimAnyMore
20 Jul 09 at 4:03 pm
What I find most disturbing about this case is that their will probably be more victims out there. Alec lived with his parents who run a Day Care out of their home. I know they have been in business for at least 7 years. He had access everyday to children. Apache Junction has just as many sex offenders as any other town. They are everywhere and could be anyone these days, It's sad but very true. I do know that this particular Trailer Park that the kidnapping occured at is a high crime area. Including drugs, and prostitution. A majority of the residence are Hispanic who only speak Spanish. While it is absoulty horriable what Alec done to this little girl I also blame the parents. If parents would know where their kids are and what they are doing I don't think we would have as many of these crimes that are commited against children like we do now. If you can't manage to be a parent who is invloved then quit having them, They are humans not just meal tickets from Ahcccs.
SickandTired
21 Jul 09 at 5:43 pm
Hello SickandTired,
It is horrible what Alec did to Jennifer. It scares me half to death to learn that his parents run a day care and he lives in the home. There is a good possibility that his parents may have allowed him to watch the children while they did errands instead of taking all of the kids with them. How would you feel if you were a parent who had a child at their day care and found out that on occasion Alec had watched your child while you thought the day care owner was watching your child, the person you employed and intended to be in charge?
I have been writing about these cases for about three years now and a great majority of the kids kidnapped, murdered and molested are victims of a parent, a family member or someone who has been a friend of the family. In this case Alec was not a family member but in some way he is known to the family. What if Jennifer's mother had been a client of the day care of Alec's parents? What would you say then?
I agree that parents need to be more vigilant about knowing the whereabouts of their children and sometimes I do mention the parent's responsibility, however, it almost sounds as if Alec had been stalking this little girl for some time. Let's blame the perpetrator not the victim.
tabloidtrisha
21 Jul 09 at 8:01 pm
Im just shoked . Whats wrong with those people ?! How can we prevent our kids ? Maybe the laws are not too strong or what ? We gotta stop this ! Our kids could be the next victims !
Dragon Amoureuse
23 Jul 09 at 11:24 am