Photo: Steve Gregory
There are more than 10,000 unsolved crimes in Southern California, most of which are homicides. Unsolved with Steve Gregory highlights cases that have gone cold, hit a brick wall, or just need that one piece of evidence or witness to surface to break the case wide open. The program features law enforcement agencies from Southern California, including the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, the LAPD, the Sheriff departments of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, and federal agencies like the FBI, DEA, and ATF.
Friday, August 5, 2005, in Pomona, California was a hot summer's day like any other. A white BMW was parked in the beating sun on Mission Blvd. in front of a fire hydrant in eyeshot of the Pomona Police Department.
After the car had sat in 100-degree temperatures for days and even received a parking ticket, the local police decided to take a closer look at the abandoned vehicle. When members of Pomona PD opened the car's trunk they discovered the body of a young woman. She was badly decomposed as her body spent days in the intense summer heat. There appeared to be signs of a struggle inside the car. Police found no identification on the victim or in the vehicle and she remained a "Jane Doe" for several days as the investigation went underway.
When police ran the plates of the BMW it came back as registered to Jose Granados of Anaheim, California. Investigators attempted to contact Granados but discovered that he had disappeared. He lived with his mother Benita Cervantes and brother Francisco Granados, they too had vanished.
Investigators were able to eventually identify the victim as 15-year-old Yanely Ulloa of Santa Ana, California. Ulloa was Granados' girlfriend. She ran away from home to be with Granados, leaving behind her 14-month-old daughter from a previous relationship with her mother. Ulloa was last seen alive with Granados on Saturday, July 30, 2005, in the Anaheim area. Known as a local drug addict, Granados was buying a substantial amount of crystal methamphetamine at the time.
It is believed that the Granados brothers and Cervantes fled to Mexico. Cervantes has family in the area of Cuernavaca, Mexico, and may have hidden out with them according to investigators.
Rumors unconfirmed by Mexican authorities state both Jose Granados and his mother may be deceased. According to the rumor, Granados died engaging in criminal activity or a car accident. Cervantes allegedly died from a medical condition.
The remaining brother, Fransisco is believed to still be alive and possibly living in the United States under a new identity. He is not a suspect at this time but may have critical information to solve Ulloa's murder.
If you or someone you know has information on this case dial #250 on your cellphone using the keyword 'Unsolved.'
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