In today's gripping episode of Box in the Basement Podcast, we delve into two heart-wrenching unsolved mysteries from Texas, each marked by seemingly random and violent acts. We first explore the tragic case of seven-year-old Jennifer Delgado, whose life was abruptly ended in San Antonio during a routine laundromat visit in 1988, leaving her mother wounded and a community in mourning. Our journey then takes us to Abilene in 1979, where we unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of William Favors, a traveling salesman who vanished after a night at his hotel bar, only to be discovered bludgeoned the next morning. Hosted by Arlene and Leah, Box in the Basement aims to bring justice to unsolved cases like these, shedding light on the stories forgotten in the shadows of time.
Jennifer Sue Delgado Memorial Foundation
Support Box in the Basement Victims
In today's gripping episode of Box in the Basement Podcast, we delve into two heart-wrenching unsolved mysteries from Texas, each marked by seemingly random and violent acts. We first explore the tragic case of seven-year-old Jennifer Delgado, whose life was abruptly ended in San Antonio during a routine laundromat visit in 1988, leaving her mother wounded and a community in mourning. Our journey then takes us to Abilene in 1979, where we unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of William Favors, a traveling salesman who vanished after a night at his hotel bar, only to be discovered bludgeoned the next morning. Hosted by Arlene and Leah, Box in the Basement aims to bring justice to unsolved cases like these, shedding light on the stories forgotten in the shadows of time.
Jennifer Sue Delgado Memorial Foundation
Support Box in the Basement Victims
This episode includes graphic descriptions of crime scenes and physical injuries that some may find disturbing.
Arlene:We are covering two different cases today. Both involving seemingly random acts of violence that have left to Texas families heartbroken and searching for answers. The first case is a story of a mundane chore being disrupted by a fit of uncontrolled rage. The consequences of said, rage left a little girl, dead.
Her mother injured. And a family and community devastated. The second case is that of a traveling salesman who disappeared somewhere between the hotel bar. And his room and then what's found bludgeoned to death the next morning narrowed up. Hello, and welcome to box in the basement podcast. I'm your host, Arlene. And I'm Leah. In 1996, my world was shattered when my uncle Leon Lorella is. Was shot execution style and a small town in Texas. To this day, his murder remains unsolved. And the pain of that injustice continues to haunt me, my family and Leon's friends and coworkers. Here at box in the basement. We want to shed light on the overwhelming number of unsolved murders and disappearances here in Texas and beyond. Ultimately, we want to get justice for Leon. And for all the victims whose cases are sitting, collecting dust in a box, in a basement. The day we discussed the heartbreaking unsolved stabbing of seven year old Jennifer Delgado in San Antonio, Texas. And the mysterious smarter, a 49 year old William favors in Abilene, Texas.
@Leah:Our first story takes place in June of 1988. The first indictments over the Iran, Contra affair were rolling in. The Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. And the Jamaican bobsled team made famous in the movie. Cool. Runnings competed at the Calgary Olympics. Rain man won best picture at the Oscars, the Lakers win the NBA championship. Notre Dame was the top college football team. The Oilers won the Stanley cup. The Redskins won the Superbowl. And the Dodgers win the world series. Beetle juice.
Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson dominated. Pop culture. One more try by George. Michael was the number one song on the billboard hot 100 the week of June 6th. Crocodile Dundee too, was the number one movie at the box office. And Danielle steel's Zoya was at the top of the New York times bestseller list. Jennifer Delgado would have been just a year younger than me in 1988. And I remember all of this, like it was yesterday. She probably curled up in the living room with her family to watch the Cosby show Alf or the golden girls with her family in the evenings. Like I did. Skateboarding was all the rage in 1988. As we're faded rolled up jeans. Apple re-emerged as a tech powerhouse. And Auto-Tune and Photoshop were unleashed on the world. At the time of this crime. San Antonio had a population of a little more than a million people. Less than half the size. It was at the end of 2023. The population of San Antonio has been majority Hispanic or Latino since at least 1970, according to census records. And is in fact, the largest majority Hispanic city in the us today. It has historically been predominantly Christian, specifically Catholic. San Antonio's economy is pretty diverse today. And it's home to such companies as Valero USA. I heart media, HEB and Pabst brewing company. There's a huge healthcare sector. And it has one of the largest concentrations of military installations in the U S. In fact, it's known as military city USA. As with many urban areas in the United States, San Antonio experienced a surge in violent crime in the 1980s and into the 1990s before leveling off. In 1988 alone. Violent crime increased 5.5% over 1987. In San Antonio.
Arlene:The laundromat on the corner of what is now west rock and west Oak roads on the west side of San Antonio, Texas was tucked in between a residential neighborhood
and several strip malls in June of 1998, when the story takes place. In fact it was located directly across the street from the house where seven year old Jennifer Delgado lived with her parents and siblings. It's just a couple of minutes from Lapland air force spaces, loop gate. And as I looked at the map, I realized that I had passed by this location probably a hundred times when Leah was stationed there. And I never knew about this story until recently. June six. 1988 was a hot day. The school was out for the summer and Jennifer Delgado and her family were settling into a summer routine. That ABN Jennifer and her mother Melida walked across the street from their home. To the west rock coin-op wash and dry. To do laundry while Jennifer's father stayed home with her siblings. Jennifer and her mother were talking about plans for the summer. When a man walked into the laundry mat to use the vending machines inside. This would have been around 7:30 PM. The man walked up to a Coke machine. Put his coins in and nothing came out. And the fit of rage. The man pulled out a knife and attack Jennifer and her mother who were the only other people in the building at the time. The man went after Jennifer's mother first stabbing her in the shoulder. She screamed at Jennifer to run home and get her father. The man was faster. However, and as Jennifer got up to run, the man stabbed her in the abdomen. She made it outside the laundromat. Across the street and into her own front yard before collapsing. She was transported to Wilford hall hospital. On Lackland air force space. Where the medical professionals try for nearly three hours to save her. Ultimately. Jennifer Delgado was pronounced dead near 11:00 PM. On June six. 1988. She was seven years old. Jennifer's mother's wounds were not serious and she survived the attack. She was able to give a description of her attacker to local law enforcement. And two separate suspect sketches were produced. The suspect was a white male in his late teens. He was clean shaven, slender, and fairly short, only around five foot, two inches tall. With dark wavy hair and he was wearing a white Hawaiian shirt. Jennifer's mother also provided a description of the vehicle the man got into after running out of the laundromat. A two door silver or gray sedan. Driven by another man that fled south headed towards us highway 90. Some reports say the car was a Honda. Some say it was a Chevrolet Chevette. Being that it was 1988. There were no security cameras in or around the building. There were no traffic cameras on the street nearby. And the camera's on cell phones. We're still a long way off. Because the incident happened so quickly, it was very little physical evidence able to be recovered from the scene. Investigators lifted fingerprints from the vending machine. But to this day, nothing has come of them. There were no other witnesses around as Jennifer and her mother were the only other people in the laundry mat when the incident occurred. Police received plenty of calls regarding the gray or silver sedan in which the suspect fled. But nothing solid ever came from that. The case went cold and investigators announced that they were at a standstill just weeks after the incident. In the year following the murder, the police claimed to have a list of 17 suspects. But that list was narrative three. And then to zero. Everyone's alibis checked out, leaving the San Antonio police back at square one.
Arlene:It has now been 35 years since Jennifer Delgado was murdered.
So brutally and Sensely over a few lost coins. But she's not forgotten. A classmate of hers. Christopher Palmer has been working to keep her case active and keep her memory alive. Jennifer legato, give Christopher A. Valentine at school. Christopher doesn't remember getting the card. But his mother kept everything from his elementary school years. And he has held on to the Valentine to this day. Christopher was the same age as Jennifer when she died. And he doesn't remember much about her given that they were so young. But the case started to haunt him as a young adult. Jennifer would never get to grow up and go to college or have a family of her own. This hate it, Christopher. So he put together a Memorial for her in 2001. In hopes of gathering friends and family and sparking media interest in the case. Despite his efforts, the case remain cold. The police never had any solid leads, never had any evidence. And renewed public interest in the case produced no new information. Christopher didn't give up though. As he got older and started a family of his own. His drive to find answers for the Delgado family got stronger. Palmer started the Jennifer Sue Delgado foundation in 2021 to honor his classmates and memory. And to try and keep the public aware of her case. In 2021 Palmer raised enough money to rename a section of the street where the laundry mat stood. It is now Jennifer SU Delgado Memorial way. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases that probably isn't going to get solved unless the perpetrator or whoever was driving the car, the perpetrator fled the scene in comes forward. There were no witnesses other than Jennifer's mother. No security camera footage, nobody with a cell phone. It was totally random. It was likely someone from the area who knew there would be a vending machine inside the laundromat. But that's really all we have to go on. If Jennifer's killer bragged at a party or threatened a girlfriend or got drunk and confess to a friend. That's the best chance we have for some kind of resolution. But here we are. 35 years after the fact. And some dirt bag has gotten away with murdering a young girl. Yes. As a parent and grandparent, this is one of my worst nightmares. I'm sitting somewhere where the kids, my name, my own business, and some unhinged stranger starts swinging a knife or shooting or something else equally terrifying. It's rare. Sure. But it's horrifying. It's an expected. You don't have any time to prepare or react really? A lot of us have had some kind of self-defense training. Leah. You've taught self-defense and martial arts for literally decades. We're adept at shooting handguns and hidden trigger points. But sometimes things just happen and that's a really unsettling. Oh, yeah, you can train and practice and work out and be super vigilant and someone can still get the drop on you. I've had it happen to me. Luckily, it was just a drunken buffoon cold cocking me. Now imagine you're a mom sitting with your kid in a place you've been probably a hundred times without an issue. And this asshole comes in and ruins your life over a soda. Probably 50 cents in 1988. It's so ridiculous. If you have any information about the tragic killing of seven-year-old Jennifer Delgado. Please contact the San Antonio police departments, cold case tip line. At 2 1 0 2 2 4 7 4 0 1 or Crimestoppers at 2 1 0 2 2 4. Stop. That's 2, 1 0. 2 2 4 7, 8, 6, 7. If you'd like more information on how to get involved in her case or honoring her memory through the Jennifer Sue Delgado foundation. Go to www dot Jennifer Sue Delgado. Dot org. We'll put all this information in the show notes. Yeah, Tober seventh, 1979 edition. The Fort worth star telegram features a story by Ernie hood. With the headline chilling. Easy in west Texas. The story begins with a quote attributed to a seasoned law enforcement personnel. If you want to commit a murder and get away with it. Come to west Texas. The story goes on to summarize several unsolved homicide cases. In the region that haunted the public and law enforcement, even back in 1979. The saddest part is most of the cases featured in the story are still unsolved today. 44 years later. One such case is that of William favors, a traveling salesman from Richardson, Texas. Was robbed and left for dead outside of a dump in Abilene, Texas. And his murder has never been solved. 1979 was a critical year in world history. As the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. They withdrew during our previous story. The Shah of Iran was deposed and Iranian students sees the us embassy in Tiran and took 49 employees hostage in a standoff that would last over a year. And the us and China established full diplomatic relations. Kramer vs. Kramer won best picture at the Oscars and and Sweeney. Todd won best musical at the Tony's. The Seattle Supersonics who are now known as the Oklahoma city thunder. If you didn't know. Beat the Washington bullets. Now the wizards for the NBA championship. Alabama was the top college football team. The Canadians won the Stanley cup. The Steelers won the Superbowl and the pirates won the world series. Donna summer's hot stuff was the number one song on the billboard hot 100 the week of June 7th, 1979. Alien was the top movie at the box office and Robert Ludlums the matter is circle dominated the New York times bestseller list. 60 minutes was the top TV show of the year. Unsurprising, given the political climate. And three's company and mash were high on the list as well. The BGS, Superman, Rocky, and strawberry shortcake dominated pop culture. The McDonald's happy meal made its debut as did the Sony Walkman. And Burton snowboard. Abilene Texas is located in the heart of the big country. Which is part of the panhandle Plains region of the state. Abilene is a railroad town. Literally founded by the Texas and Pacific railway company in 1881. And was named after Abilene, Kansas, the Northern Terminus of the Chisholm trail. Like many frontier towns in Texas Abilene started life as a rough and tumble dot on the map full of Cowboys, Outlaws and saloons. As the town began to diversify and gun fighting EAs. Three colleges, what would eventually become hardened Simmons university. Abilene Christian university and McMurry university open their doors. And a thriving arts scene emerged. Abaleen army air base was established just outside of town in 1942. And eventually became Dyess air force base. Home of the seventh bomb wing and the three 17th airlift wing. Dyess has been the city's largest employer for decades. Today Abaleen has a population of about 156,000 people, but in 1979, it would have been closer to around 98,000. William favors was their regional traveling salesman who worked for Regency electronics. A company based out of Florida. Favors who was 49 at the time of his death. Regularly stopped in. The Abilene area on business. He would set up new accounts for clients, and then he traveled to check up on them afterward. Favors wasn't from Abilene. He was actually from Richardson, Texas. Which is a part of the DFW metroplex. He was married and had two adult children at the time of his death. Favors rolled into Abaleen on June 7th, 1978. To take care of some local clients. And he checked himself into the Royal Inn on west highway 80. Favors had a drink at the motels bar alone that evening. The bartender was able to confirm he was there until around 11:00 PM. But the picture gets fuzzy after that. Since this was 1978. There was no easy way to track people's movements. No cell phones, no traffic cameras, no security cameras, nothing like that. I know that sounds like a dream come true for many of us in the age of technology. But it sure did make investigator's jobs more difficult in the seventies. Not to have instant access to video footage And mobile phone records. The paradise club, the bar attached to the Royal Inn where favors was staying. Was a hip hangout in the late seventies. It was popular with locals. They ought to had live music and hosted weddings and parties. That being said, there is not much eye witness testimony from that night. Just the bartenders account. Does it incredibly frustrating aspect of this case? Around 10 o'clock on the morning of June 8th, 1978. A couple of discovered favors his body. In a farm field in the Southwest part of Abaleen near a dump off us highway 80. This field was also located behind the Royal Inn, which will become important later. As investigators, try to piece together a timeline. He was beaten. So severely the investigating officer Abaleen police, Lieutenant Ramon Portalatin said it appeared favors, had been stomped to death. It was later determined that he had been beaten with a blunt object, most likely a bloody bumper Jack found at the scene. Keep in mind as we discuss blood evidence that this is 1978 long before DNA analysis was a thing. Favors his company car was also at the scene. And his body was just a few feet away. The bloody bumper Jack, most likely belong to favors his company car. His shirt had been ripped, open. His pants were pulled down to his feet. And his underwear were pulled down to mid thigh. Police did not find any evidence of a struggle in or around the car, but there was blood on the vehicles, roof door and trunk. Investigators believe that the entire incident took place in the field. He was not killed and then moved to the field later on or anything like that. Favors his wallet was missing. And from what investigators uncovered, he regularly carried a good amount of cash when he was out of town on business. Probably 200 to$300. His electric razor and a CB radio were also taken from the car. Again, it's 1978. The medical examiner placed favors is time of death, somewhere around three to 4:00 AM on June 8th. But as we said before, there's no account of his movements between the last time he was seen at the motel. And the time of death. Police investigated extensively and conducted a number of interviews With witnesses. But to no avail. Favors case quickly went cold. There were no suspects or persons of interest identified in the early part The investigation. In the weeks following the murder police sought information about one or two transient individuals. Who we're seeing around the Royal in. We're favors was stain. But nothing ever came of this. It was a long shot, but at this point, Police really didn't have much else to go on. Though he traveled extensively in Texas and was often an ambling. Favors didn't have any friends or family in the area. Which made, finding out more about his movements and habits while on business. All the more difficult. Police did interrogate two suspects in 1979. Well, young Bazzi Jr. And Clifton Charles Russell. Brought in from hobsy Mexico. They were questioned in the deaths of both favors and a man named Hubert. Oh, Toby. I also killed an ambling, but ultimately nothing came with the interrogation. One of the interesting and also frustrating things about this case is the fact that Henry Lee Lucas confessed to favors is murdered several years after the fact. Henry Lee Lucas also known as the confession killer. Confessed to killing over 600 people throughout the 1960s and seventies. Though the vast majority of these claims were later found to be fabricated. The problem here is that police had an unsolved murder. No leads no real evidence and nothing to go on. So the inclination to believe a confession is undoubtedly pretty strong. Lucas's confession just made an already difficult situation. That much worse. And this was the case for many unsolved murders in Texas at the time. So what happened to William favors? To prevailing theories are that favors was a victim of a robbery. And that Henry Lee Lucas killed him. I don't think Henry Lee Lucas killed favors. Mostly because I don't think he killed most of the people he confessed to killing. I've done quite a bit of research on Lucas's timeline been. And it's a little tight for him to have been traveling between his home base In Jacksonville, Florida. other cities he claimed to be in around this time, such as Slidell, Louisiana. And get to Abilene, Texas by June 7th. It's possible, of course, but I'm highly skeptical. That leaves us with robbery. Given that favors wallet was missing. His electric razor had been taken. And the CB radio was removed from his car. I think that this is a reasonable assumption. Favors was traveling alone and he had been drinking by himself at the hotel's bar that evening. When the bar closed, the timeline gets murky, but we do know that favors was found near his car. So it isn't crazy to think that he may have been in or near his car. When he was attacked. It's quite possible favor, simply wasn't ready to turn in for the night. And decided to go for a bite to eat. Another drink. Or just take a drive around the area. It's also possible. He was just getting something out of his car before head into his room. Perhaps his electric razor. When he was confronted or attacked in the parking lot. Another possibility is that someone at the bar saw him with a roll of cash and followed him out. There are just too many options. In our last episode. Kathleen wrapped. We talked about how strange it was that if that case were a robbery. Why was the car left behind? This case is a little different because favors car was a company car, not a personal vehicle. It was also left at the murder scene and not return to the last place the victim was seen alive. As with the case with Kathleen ramped. All of this together makes it seem like favors was a target of opportunity. Maybe some local dirt bags saw him walk into his car and decided to rough them up. And Robin. Maybe he was driving and the perpetrator or perpetrators flied him down with a fake flat tire. Or something. And then Rob, Tim, and beat him. There are a lot of possibilities here since we don't have a solid timeline and not much evidence is available. And there are some things about this crime that really bothered me. The whole incident bothers me obviously, but why was favors partly undressed investigators initially assumed there was a sexual component to the crime. But no evidence of sexual assault was ever found. That's not to say that wasn't a motive, but there isn't any conclusive evidence confirming such a theory. Was it just for an extra jolt of post-mortem humiliation as if being beaten and left for dead. Wasn't enough. Where the perpetrator is simply looking for money and valuables and pulled off his clothing in the process. These are all possibilities, but unless some DNA evidence is recovered or someone comes forward with information. We may never know the full story. And why the dump. Especially since it was so close to where favors was staying. The perpetrator had to have known the body and car would be found fairly quickly at the dump. So perhaps the killer or killers were in a rush and left in a hurry. Maybe they didn't mean to kill favors and they panicked. Though the sheer violence of the crime leads me to believe that the purp had every intention of killing favors from the start. Like the Jennifer Delgado case we talked about earlier in this episode. There's just not much to go on. Unless the perpetrators come forward. Or if someone who overheard his killer or killers bragging at a barbecue. It's hard to imagine this case getting solved. There's always the long shot that some kind of DNA evidence will be extracted from the evidence left behind. But as this case was from the late seventies, that seems very unlikely. As with a Delgado case, there were no witnesses, at least none that have come forward. There was no security camera footage. Nobody's standing. In the motel parking lot with a cell phone. The last person we know laid eyes on William favors was the bartender at the motel. But there's a lot of time. And a lot of real estate between the bar closing down and the discovery of the body the next morning. That favors was not from the area and had no known enemies in Abilene. Further complicates matters. If you have any information about the murder of William favors, please contact the Abilene police department. At cold case at Abilene, Texas, tx.gov. Or at. Crimestoppers 3, 2 5 6 7 6 8 4 7 7 This podcast has a bigger purpose than Just providing information and the entertainment. The homicide victims, families rights act is a bipartisan bill that was signed into law by Congress in 2021. And we want to see it put into action. This law establishes a systematic process for reviewing case files. Related to cold case murders. The focus is on providing a mechanism for the families and friends of murder victims. To request a formal review of such cases. We need an attorney or teams of attorneys and legal professionals To take on the bold and brave fight against the system around the country. In our case, we need someone to fight for Leon to help not only put fresh eyes on the case. But to get his body zoomed, to search for evidence that was not collected the first time around. We and other families and friends need assistance with getting foyer requests. It blows our minds that so many murders occurred from 1976 to 1997. In Brownwood, Texas under the watch of the same investigators, responsible for handling Leon's case. We're going to look at all the unsolved murders in Brownwood. And maybe even if you solved ones, if it helps uncover what was happening in that era that left so many families devastated. And a community living in fear. If you want to hear more about victim focused. Unsolved cases. And get updates about what we know. Please subscribe, like and share our podcast. Also visit our website. Justice for leon.com to donate to our cause to hire an attorney. You can also join our email list to stay current on developments on Leon's case and other cases. We cover as they happen. pleaSe follow and lagger. Bigger Facebook pages for box in the basement. And justice for Leon Corellas and follow our Instagram pages