Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth were inseparable. Both nineteen-years-old, they had been friends since childhood, and had grown up and attended school together in Loveland, Colorado. The ‘besties’ then moved to another state together, where they lived together . . . and died together.

Only three months after enthusiastically coming to the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona, Diana and Jennifer disappeared on the afternoon of May 24, 1996. Three months later, their bodies were found deep in the remote desert.

Diana and Jennifer had come to Arizona to begin their lives on their own. The end to their lives came far too soon; not knowing who killed them has been unknown for far too long.

 

Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth

On the afternoon of May 24, 1996, Diana and Jennifer had a spat with Diana’s sister, Kristina Frigo, with whom they lived in Glendale. The arguments were frequent between the three young women residing in a two-bedroom apartment.

Diana and Jennifer stormed out of the apartment, wearing only tank tops, shorts, and sandals. They said they were going to a local convenience store to get soda and cigarettes. The women always took their purses and makeup with them when they were to be gone for long periods; because neither did so this time, Kristina assumed they intended to return shortly.

Kristina Frigo

Diana’s Sister

Diana and Jennifer were seen at the mini-mart a few blocks from their home at approximately 7:00 p.m. The cashier recalled their buying pop and cigarettes, as they had told Kristina. Instead of returning home, though, the women sat on a bench outside the store, talking for a couple of hours while drinking the sodas and smoking the cigarettes.

Around 9:00, the cashier noticed a man driving a blue pickup pull alongside the bench. Diana and Jennifer conversed with the man for several minutes before getting into the truck and leaving. The cashier said both the women and driver were smiling as they conversed. It appeared to him that Diana and Jennifer knew the man.

All Seemed Fine

Three months later, on August 24, two men hunting in a remote region of Verde Valley in Yavapai County, one-hundred miles north of Phoenix, happened upon the bodies of two young women, later identified as those of Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth. Both women had been murdered, but police have not released the manner of their deaths.

A silver ring Diana was wearing when she left her sister’s apartment was never found. Police believe it may have taken by the killer as a memento of the murders.

The Women Are Found Murdered

The bodies were found in an extremely isolated region of the Tule Desert, eighteen miles from the nearest highway, Interstate 17.  The women appeared to have been murdered elsewhere and dumped at the locale.

Killed Elsewhere 

The terrain was rough and accessible only by truck or a four-wheel drive vehicle. Investigators believe the killer(s) was familiar with the isolated area.

The Valley Where The Bodies Were Found

Diana and Jennifer both enjoyed the night life and frequented many parties and clubs. Though they had been in Glendale for only a short time, they had met many people, most of whom were unknown to their parents and Kristina.

The parents of both women, Roger and Kathleen Shawcroft and Bob and Deb Lueth, acknowledge their daughters were naïve and believe a man, or more likely at least two men, manipulated and took advantage of them before killing them.

Easy Targets

The families of Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth erected a shrine to their daughters in the desert where their bodies were found. Pictures of the women were placed at the foot of two wood crosses.

On the chance the killer(s) might visit the site, police periodically surveyed the venue, particularly on the anniversaries of the murders and on the women’s birthdays. For four-and-a-half years, they found no evidence that the culprit had returned to the scene.

On September 29, 2000, however, police found the photos of the girls had been removed from their frames, which were found by the crosses. At the time, the exact spot where the bodies were found had not been disclosed to the public. The only people who knew the location were the police, family members, the men who found the remains, and the killers.

The pictures of Diana and Jennifer were replaced and investigators continue to occasionally survey the area. The site has not been tampered with again.

The Shrine Is Vandalized

A composite sketch of the man seen in his pickup talking to Diana and Jennifer at the convenience store was based on the clerk’s recollection.

The man had dirty blond or brown hair in a mullet style and what appeared to be approximately a week’s growth of facial hair. He had scratches on his right arm and was wearing a greasy denim jacket. The cashier believed the man to be in his early thirties, meaning he would today be in his late fifties to early sixties.

Authorities emphasize this man has not been deemed a suspect in the murders of Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth. He is sought only for questioning.

Sought for Questioning

The man was driving a blue pickup, believed to be an early 1980s Chevy with tinted windows, chrome bumpers, a broken taillight, several body dents, and badly faded paint.

A Truck Similar To The Man’s Vehicle

Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth were murdered, probably shortly after they were last seen on May 24, 1996. Authorities believe at least two people were likely involved in their murders.

New analysis conducted on a strand of hair and fibers collected from the crime scene was completed in 2010. Authorities have not elaborated on what the test revealed.

If you have any information on the identity of the man sought for questioning or anything you believe may be relevant to the murders, please contact the Glendale, Arizona, Police Department at 623-930-3399.

Lived Together

Died Together

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7300671/diana-lynn-shawcroft

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8080199/jennifer-sue-lueth