Copyright © 1992, The Austin American-Statesman

James E. Garcia, Kimberly Garcia, Dozens have confessed to slayings, official says., 12-06-1992.

MEXICO CITY - A man in custody here is only one of at least 50people who have confessed to the slayings of four teen-age girls in an Austin yogurt shop last year, according to a Mexican government official.

George Natanson, spokesman for the Mexican attorney general, said Austin police have told him that at least 50 people have confessed to the killings, though few are considered serious suspects.

He said Austin investigators also told him that Porfirio Villa Saavedra, 26, who is on trial in Mexico on unrelated rape and kidnapping charges, is a suspect in the murders committed last Dec. 6 in the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop at 2949 W. Anderson Lane.

Villa Saavedra confessed to the yogurt shop killings shortly after his arrest in October, but he has recanted the confession, saying he was tortured into providing a false statement. Villa Saavedra is being tried for kidnapping a woman outside an Austin nightclub, driving her to San Antonio and raping her.

Another man, Alberto Jimenez Cortez, 24, also being tried on the rape and kidnapping charges, has also recanted a statement in which he originally implicated Villa Saavedra in the yogurt store killings.

Natanson said Villa Saavedra and Cortez are expected to be convicted on the rape and kidnap charges.

Meanwhile, Austin police have refused to state publicly whether they consider Villa Saavedra or Cortez official suspects in the slayings. They've also been silent about what evidence, if any, they have to make them consider the two men as suspects.

"I think one of the reasons Austin police aren't releasing many details, " Natanson said, "is that they've already had so many people confessing to the crime, they don't want other people coming in claiming they did it, too."

Natanson said Austin police "do have that original confession" from Villa Saavedra. But he said it has little legal value without additional evidence.

Mexican authorities do not have enough evidence to indict the suspects on murder charges, he said.

Austin investigators said they have gone to Mexico three times - the last time was Nov. 23 - in an attempt to eliminate or include Villa Saavedra and Cortez as suspects in the yogurt shop case.

After questioning the men with the help of Mexican authorities, Austin police Lt. Dave Parkinson said investigators are still not sure whether the two were involved, although he said police are not at a point to eliminate them as suspects.

"We haven't been able to corroborate enough information one way or another," he said. "We're kind of at an end with those two right now."

Parkinson said Austin investigators won't return to Mexico unless there are new developments in the case. The focus now is to find a third suspect,

Ricardo Sanchez. Sanchez also has been indicted on the rape and kidnap charge and still may be in the United States, authorities have said.

"We're still at a point where we can't eliminate (Villa Saavedra and Jimenez Cortez)," said Parkinson.

"We still have hopes for the third guy. He's our wild card," he said.

Staff writer Kimberly Garcia contributed to this report.

Copyright © 1992, The Austin American-Statesman

James E. Garcia, Kimberly Garcia, Dozens have confessed to slayings, official says., 12-06-1992.