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Lisa ‘Monza’ Monzo: Missing Teen’s California Murder By Michael Patrick Ihde On ID’s ‘Motives And Murders’

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 00:58 PST, Apr 25, 2017

The rape and murder of Lisa Monzo (Lisa Monza) will air on the upcoming season premiere of Motives and Murders: Cracking the Case. For the episode titled “More Than A Sister,” it appears that the name of the victim was changed from Lisa Monzo to Lisa Monza for the documentary crime show. Lisa Monzo’s case made headlines in the 1980s when she vanished and was found dead in a deserted area. On the show, Brian, a classmate, will tell what it was like to lose his friend. Lisa was scheduled to appear for a role in the school play when she was murdered.

Missing Teen Vanished On Way Home

The popular 18-year-old cheerleader disappeared in November of 1984. Lisa Monzo (Monza) was last seen by a group of teenagers as she walked home from school. The teens told police that she first walked through a busy area of town but later veered off toward the overpass. The San Lorenzo High School teen never made it home.

Frantic family members worried that the worst had happened to Lisa. Police confirmed their fears when her dead body was found days later. The autopsy conducted on the body revealed that she had been raped before she was strangled.

Despite the police detectives’ efforts to find the killer, all leads went cold. Lisa Ann Monzo’s murder case was unsolved for several years until a Washington state inmate came forward in 1992, stating that a man named Michael Patrick Ihde had confessed to the murder.

The Troubled Past Of Michael Ihde

At the time, Michael Patrick Ihde (Michael Ihde) was serving a life sentence in prison for the murder of Ellen Parker, an elderly 68-year-old woman who was raped and killed, according to SF Gate. DNA evidence linked Michael Ihde’s blood, hair, and semen together. He was charged with Lisa Monzo’s murder and sentenced to death.

Law enforcement investigators say that Michael Patrick Ihde crossed paths with Lisa Monzo (Monza) when he was under the overpass drinking alcohol.

While Lisa Was Dead, Classmates Went On With The Show

Lisa Monzo’s classmates were heavily criticized for “going on with the show,” after they knew what had happened to her. Moving forward with the play caused some to say that Lisa’s classmates were cold and careless.

However, others find nothing wrong with her classmates attending the play, stating that Lisa Monzo might have wanted the show to continue due to her deep love and respect for theater.

For many of Lisa Monzo’s classmates, attending the play allowed them to put their minds on something else since her death was an emotional blow to her friends.

The book by Robert Scott describes the scene at the 1984 San Lorenzo High School dance that took place around the time Lisa Monzo’s body was found. One of the things that stood out to the school librarian was that the students were crying and whispering about the murder as the music played eerily in the background.

Police say that Michael Ihde had a violent sexual history, which he blamed on being abused by a relative. The high school dropout was first accused of a sex crime when he was in his teens.

Lisa Monzo (Monza) Case: A Short Timeline

  • 1992: An inmate comes forward with information that Michael Ihde confessed to Lisa’s murder.
  • 1994: DNA comes back as a match.
  • 1996: Michael Ihde goes on trial. Jurors hear the testimony of a prior victim who survived one of his attacks. Michael cries during her testimony.
  • After he is found guilty, it takes jurors three days to decide on the death penalty.
  • 1997: Serial killer Michael Ihde writes letters to the victims’ families, stating that he is now a changed man and a born-again Christian. He is ordered to cease contact.

The death of Tina Faelz, a Pleasanton teen who was also murdered as she walked home from school, recently aired on another Investigation Discovery show. You can read about that case below.

Motives and Murders: Cracking the Case airs tonight on ID. Check your local TV schedules for times.

[Featured Image by Memorial Pages For SLZ High Arroyo Sunset Hayward High San Leandro High/Facebook]

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