Texas investigators are turning fresh attention to the 1995 killing in east El Paso, raising the reward for information to $6,000 as they ask the public once more who beat 30-year-old Celia Loya to death inside her own home in 1995. No arrest has ever been made.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is asking the public for new information about the 1995 murder of Celia Loya, according to KFOX14. On Feb. 7, 1995, Loya called her colleagues to say she would be late for work, but she never arrived, the station reports. Unable to reach her, her husband went home and found her body on the bathroom floor of their house on Lake Champlain Street.
Investigators determined that Loya died from extensive blood loss stemming from blunt-force trauma to her head and body, according to the case details Texas DPS shared in a post on X
. KFOX14's report adds that she had been severely beaten, and that signs of a struggle were also found in the living room.
No Arrest in More Than 31 Years
Despite the passage of more than 31 years, the case remains unsolved. The El Paso Police Department and the Texas Rangers have followed leads, interviewed people and examined evidence over that time, but no arrests have been made, per the same KFOX14 account. Investigators are now renewing their appeal for specifics: Loya's activities and whereabouts before her death, anyone who may have seen her the morning she disappeared, and any suspicious activity reported near the home around that time.
Texas DPS wrote on X that “the reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for her death has been increased to $6,000 if the tip is received before the next featured Texas Rangers cold case is announced.” That window matters, because the bump isn't permanent. The higher reward is available only for tips submitted before the next Texas Rangers cold case is featured, the station notes, after which the amount tied to Loya's case could change.
How the Reward System Works
The escalating reward isn't unique to Loya's file. As part of a DPS public awareness program, one case is featured bi-monthly to generate new investigative leads, and Texas Crime Stoppers rewards are increased to up to $6,000 for whichever case is currently spotlighted, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The same rotating structure has recently put a $6,000 reward on a 1996 cold case in Brown County, as reported by KTAB/KRBC, and on the unsolved 1997 murder of University of Texas at Dallas student Brent Alan Gutheinz, according to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth — meaning the clock on Loya's elevated reward could run out once another case takes the spotlight.
For now, Celia Loya's case is the one in front of investigators, and they're hoping the higher payout jars loose a detail that's sat untold for more than 31 years. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-252-TIPS (8477).
