Authorities were able to close a 27-year-old cold case from New Mexico on Monday morning in Midland.
Investigators with Albuquerque Police Department, Texas Rangers, and Department of Public Safety were led to Midland during the investigation of the Oct. 18, 1986 murder of 22-year-old Paul Dubois in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was reopened in January 2013. Dubious had died from gun shot wounds during an altercation.
Authorities had identified Ramon Astorga Ramirez (DOB 8/31/66) as the suspect in the initial investigation and obtained an arrest warrant for him for first-degree murder. Ramirez fled the area, remaining at large for 27 years until new leads were developed this year. Detectives with the Albuquerque Police Department's Cold Case Unit, assisted by Texas Rangers, Department Of Public Safety, Midland County Sheriff's Office and Midland Police Department, apprehended now 47-year-old Ramirez at his place of employment in the 600 block of West Florida Avenue at around 9 a.m. on Monday morning. Ramirez was transported to Midland Police Department, where he subsequently confessed to the crime. Ramirez is in Midland County Jail, facing charges of first-degree murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He will be extradited to New Mexico.