Unsolved cases

Disappearance of Laura Ayala

Laura Ayala was born on October 29, 1988, she resided in an apartment complex in the 7930 block of Serita street in Houston Texas.

On March 10, 2002, Laura asked her mother for money to purchase a newspaper for a school assignment. She leaves her home around 10:15 pm and walked to the Broadway Convince store.

The store is housed inside the Conoco gas station. An employee told the authorities that Laura appeared at the store alone and bought a newspaper, leaving shortly afterward, never to be seen again.

Laura's mother became worried when her daughter haven't returned home and walked to the store by herself.
Laura's shoes and the newspaper were found inside the parking lot between her apartment complex and the gas station, prompting the mother to contact the police.

Witnesses reported seeing a full-sized mid-1980s model red/maroon cargo van near the store around the time Laura disappeared. The vehicle was two-tone and had a large size white or light-colored stripe painted along its center and a gray-colored bumper. The sliding door on the right side of the van had a window; witnesses said that the window behind the door may have been missing and plywood concealed its opening.

A resident near Broadway street reported seeing the van at around 10:00 pm on the night of Laura's disappearance. The witness did not contact law enforcement until April 2002, a month after Laura vanished.
He said the van's sliding door was open and reported observing an unidentified Hispanic or Caucasian male near the scene.

In February 2003, Laura's disappearance was linked to three men; Walter Alexander Sorto, Edgardo Rafael Cubas, and Eduardo Navarro.

Sorto is from El Salvador and Cubas is from Honduras. They went on a crime spree of robberies, rapes, and murders in the Predominantly Hispanic east side of Houston.

Blood found in an SUV belonging to Cuba's father was linked to Laura's DNA. Cuba admitted that he, sort, and Navarro occasionally borrowed the vehicle. A semen matching one of the suspects was also located in the car.
Cuba and Sorto were charged with capital murder in the deaths of two adult waitresses and a fifteen-year-old girl. Navarro was charged with the same offenses but could not face the death penalty because he was only fifteen years old at the time of the crimes.

Sorto and Cubas were convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death; both are waiting for execution. Navarro pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to thirteen years in prison. None was charged in Laura's case due to a lack of evidence.

Unfortunately, Laura's case remains

Unsolved