Alphabet Murders

Police consider Miguel Colon, Carmen Colon’s paternal uncle, to be a strong suspect in her murder. He formed a relationship with her mother, Guillermina, following the disintegration of his brother’s marriage.

A short time before Carmen’s abduction, Miguel purchased a car closely matching an eyewitness’s description of a vehicle reversing along the shoulder of Interstate 490 in pursuit of a half-naked girl. Unfortunately, other witnesses reported seeing other makes and models of cars. In the Alphabet Killer, Cheri Farnsworth puts the number at half a dozen or more.

The police searched Miguel’s vehicle shortly after Carmen’s murder. The search revealed that Miguel had thoroughly cleaned the interior and exterior of his car and scoured the trunk with a powerful cleaning agent. Also, the police found one of Carmen’s dolls in the car’s back seat.

Although the police saw the doll’s presence and the extensive cleaning of the vehicle – particularly the trunk – as sinister, Carmen’s relatives told the police she frequently travelled in Miguel’s vehicle.

Moreover, it is not uncommon for the proud owner of a new car to act in a way that shows off his new toy in the best possible light. In any event, it would be extraordinarily careless of Miguel to clean his car to eliminate evidence of Carmen’s presence while leaving one of her dolls on the back seat.  

 One of Miguel’s friends informed the police that two days after Carmen’s death, Miguel said he had to leave the country as he had “done something wrong in Rochester.” Miguel left Rochester for Puerto Rico a few days later.

According to some reports, the friend could not recall whether Miguel mentioned Carmen when he said he was leaving for Puerto Rico. Moreover, in the Alphabet Killer, Cheri Farnsworth says the friend came forward after seeing news reports of billboards advertising a reward for the capture and conviction of Carmen’s killer. In any event, a half-remembered conversation is insufficient evidence to sustain any charge, let alone a charge of rape and murder.

Police investigators travelled to San Juan to question Miguel in March 1972. After a story in a local newspaper stated that Rochester police intended to question him regarding Carmen’s murder, Miguel ‘went bush.’ He surrendered to authorities on March 26 and returned to Rochester for questioning. According to Cheri Farnsworth, who is usually supportive of the Rochester police, Miguel only agreed to return to the US after police threatened to imprison his elderly mother indefinitely.

Miguel had a weak alibi for the day of Carmen’s murder and was unable to produce a witness to corroborate his whereabouts. Regardless, the police did not find physical evidence at the crime scene or in his vehicle to link him to the murder. Moreover, he passed a polygraph test administered as part of the police questioning.

Miguel committed suicide in 1991 after shooting and wounding Guillermina and her brother. 

Miguel’s family never accepted that he was responsible for Carmen’s death. Rochester police believe the Colon family know the truth about Miguel’s involvement and are lying to protect him and the family’s reputation.

The Rochester police’s treatment of Miguel leads to the obvious question: Would they have acted differently had Miguel been a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant?