CA CA - Marie Elizabeth "Marliz" Spannhake, 19, Chico, 31 Jan 1976

Last seen on January 31, 1976, when she left a Chico fleamarket after a fight with her fiancé, 19-year-old "Marliz" was never seen again - leaving all of her belongings untouched at her apartment. She is still listed as "endangered missing," and her case has certainly gone cold.

While police initially suspected her fiancé in her disappearance, Jan, the wife of convicted kidnapper/sadist Cameron Hooker, has given believable statements that her husband was responsible for kidnapping, torturing and murdering Marie Elizabeth on January 31, 1976, after the couple picked her up hitchhiking back to her apartment. Jan knew certain details, such as Spannhake's origins in Ohio, her apartment address and the fact that she went by the pet name "Marliz," which she likely could not have known otherwise.

While LE believed Jan Hooker's account of Spannhake's murder -- that she was something of a precursor-gone-wrong to Hooker's infamous 1977 kidnapping of survivor Colleen Stan (Colleen Stan) -- they could not prosecute Hooker based solely on accomplice testimony, and no remains were recovered where Jan thought they might have buried the young victim. Therefore, while Hooker is currently serving a maximum sentence of 104 years for the seven year imprisonment, torture and rape of Stan, he has never been officially charged, tried or convicted in connection with Marliz Spannhake.

So, while there is a plausible story of what happened to his young woman, her remains have yet to be recovered, and there is still no official "truth" in her case.

I wanted to highlight this case for those trying to ID unidentified remains, and to show that people are still thinking about Marliz, who would be celebrating her 54th birthday next week.

Doe Network link.

TruTV

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Chico Police Department
530-897-4911
​

According to Jan Hooker, the couple disposed of Marliz's remains quite far north of their Red Bluff, CA, home - somewhere off Highway 44 in the mountains in a shallow grave along side a dirt road (possibly a logging road) that might no longer exist, or may now be a paved road in its own right. She said she recalled it might have been near a stream. According to Jan Hooker, it had been dark and snowy that night, so her memory (also clouded with time and fear) is not exact on the location.

Red Bluff and Chico LE did a number of searches with and without Jan Hooker, including infrared satellite imaging, but to no avail.

Source: Perfect Victim, Norton & McGuire (1989)

Undated photo.


Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: June 20, 1956
Age at Time of Disappearance: 19 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'5"; 110-120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; green eyes.
AKA: Marliz

The body has yet to be found, however the book: "Against Their Will: Sadistic Kidnappers and the Courageous Stories of Their innocent victims" gives chilling details about how she was killed.

in 2011, author Jodie Foster wrote a book about ghosts and mentioned that Marie's Elizabeth ghost still haunts the area
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/news/ci_19232153

https://charleyross.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/a-letter-from-colleen-stan/

I have never heard about Marliz before for some reason, as if the Colleen Stan case wasn't already bad enough. Is it really too late to charge Cameron Hooker for murder in Marliz' death?

Her entry at Charley Project:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/spannhake_marie.html

Archangel85 said:

The body has yet to be found, however the book: "Against Their Will: Sadistic Kidnappers and the Courageous Stories of Their innocent victims" gives chilling details about how she was killed.

in 2011, author Jodie Foster wrote a book about ghosts and mentioned that Marie's Elizabeth ghost still haunts the area
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/news/ci_19232153

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I don't know how many people on this forum believe in ghosts and all that but I'll tell you I lived right across the street from this apartment complex in the Forrest Park Apartments. At one point the apartments that Marliz lived in was called Walnut Gardens (they did a remodel and a name change while I lived there, shortly after the SciFi channel profiled the haunting there) and I have to tell you that you can just feel the weird vibe when you walk by the damn place. I'm a weird so after two years of nightmares constantly and always waking up at exactly the same time every night I looked up my neighborhood and found this story. I mean it's not exactly in the move to Chico brochure. Turns out they even tried renumbering the apartments at one point in order to get people to move in and stay. I had to go check the place out after that and yeah, bad energy. Such a tragic and weird story.

I watch hed the Lifetime movie The Girl In The Box" last night. At the close of the movie appeared this caption: "Marlitz has never been found. It would have been nice if someone had bothered to spell her name correctly. This poor girl has lost everything, including her name.

I just watched the ID special on this, I wish they would put Cameron in a box until he remembered where he put this poor girl. She deserves a proper burial. And, IMO, he deserves to be left in a box until he ceases to exist.

Dogface said:

I just watched the ID special on this, I wish they would put Cameron in a box until he remembered where he put this poor girl. She deserves a proper burial. And, IMO, he deserves to be left in a box until he ceases to exist.

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He may not be in a box, but at least he's in prison. I do wish they built jail cells extra small for guys like Cameron.

Ozoner said:

He may not be in a box, but at least he's in prison. I do wish they built jail cells extra small for guys like Cameron.

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They do have special cells for guys like him ; but not in this world.

Lavender Moon said:

They do have special cells for guys like him ; but not in this world.

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Let's change that. I have a design in mind: 5 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 10 inches high, with a built in trough for his daily ration of syrup-of-ipecac-flavored gruel.

I just watched Girl in a Box. I've had it dvr'd for awhile. I'm so sad for Marliz. The movie seemed to change some of the details about what happened with Colleen Stan, as movies do, so I was interested in the details of Marliz's disappearance and death. I was also surprised to see that Colleen and Marliz both have very short threads here. [emoji53]

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Marie Elizabeth Spannhake

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Top two photos are Spannhake, circa 1976; Bottom two photos are Colleen Stan shortly before her abduction and after her release.

• Missing Since 01/31/1976
• Missing From Chico, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 06/20/1956 (63)
• Age 19 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 110 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Spannhake's nickname is Marliz.

Details of Disappearance
Spannhake was last seen in Chico, California at 4:00 p.m. on January 31, 1976. She has never been heard from again. Authorities believe she was abducted and murdered by Cameron Hooker and his wife, Janice.

Years later, Janice told police she and Cameron were out driving in their two-door Dodge Colt when they saw a young woman walking along Mangrove Avenue. She later found out, by looking at the woman's identification, that she was Spannhake.

Janice stated they offered Spannhake a ride and she got in their car willingly. They drove her to her destination on Rio Linda Avenue and stopped to let her out, but as she was getting out of the car, Cameron grabbed her wrist and pulled her back him.

The Hookers took her home and kept her for about a day. Cameron hanged Spannhake from the rafters in his basement, shot her in the abdomen with a pellet gun and then strangled her. He and Janet buried her body near Lassen Park.

Cameron and Janice kidnapped twenty-year-old Colleen Stan in May 1977. Photographs of Stan are posted with this case summary. The Hookers held her captive in their home for seven years, torturing and sexually abusing her. They released her in 1984 and she went to the police.

After they were arrested, Janice received immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony against her husband. He was convicted of rape and kidnapping, in spite of his assertions that Stan had consented to his treatment of her, and sentenced to 104 years in prison. He was denied parole in 2015 and won't have another parole hearing for fifteen years.

Spannhake moved to California from Cleveland, Ohio in late 1975. She was living with her fiance in the 100 block of Parmac Road and had a part-time job as a model at a camera shop. No charges have been filed in her case, but foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.

LINK:

charleyproject.org/case/marie-elizabeth-spannhake

Marie Elizabeth Spannhake – The Charley Project

https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/40883?nav MP40883

Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available

0 unidentified persons exclusions

Bumping for Marliz

Searched through Newspapers dot com, they’re having a free access weekend to celebrate mother’s day.

The Chico Enterprise-Record had an article about Marie June 13, 1981. She walked away from a flea market at East 20th and Mulberry Streets. Her apartment was on Parmac Road. She was allegedly wearing blue jeans and a sweater. Also, though Doe Network states there are no identifiers for Marie, the article states her dental records are on file with the Dept. of Justice.

Her boyfriend was questioned and passed a polygraph. Prior to the article being written, he left the area. The article also gave his name, stating he was born and raised in California. Upon further search, it appears he passed away, in Ohio, in 2019.

What chills me about this case is her name, Marie Elizabeth, is the same name as one of the Allenstown NH child victims, and she went by Marliz, similar to Marlyse’s name. I highly doubt the cases are related, but the similarities are uncanny and eerie.

On Netflix, one in the series of _Unsolved Mysteries_, "The Ghost in Apartment 14," details paranormal activity around Marliz's disappearance after a mother and daughter move into the apartment that Marliz lived in when she was taken. Another kidnapping victim, Colleen Stan, is also interviewed. Some eerie coincidences.

I just watched this episode and apparently Cameron is set to be released potentially. It seems like they know the general area of the body and if they find bones it'll verify Janice's story, which would ensure he never sees the light of day. Does anyone know if there have been any recent search parties in the area they believe she's buried? I know there are new radar that can scan ground and even see through cement for graves, so it almost seems like it could be solved with a little bit of effort. It's apparently off of a dirt road near highway 44 and highway 17 near Lassen National Park. I know it's a dense area but I wonder if new ground radar can help.

wean02 said:

I just watched this episode and apparently Cameron is set to be released potentially. It seems like they know the general area of the body and if they find bones it'll verify Janice's story, which would ensure he never sees the light of day. Does anyone know if there have been any recent search parties in the area they believe she's buried? I know there are new radar that can scan ground and even see through cement for graves, so it almost seems like it could be solved with a little bit of effort. It's apparently off of a dirt road near highway 44 and highway 17 near Lassen National Park. I know it's a dense area but I wonder if new ground radar can help.

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Let's hope that this technology can be used in this case... the story that his ghost haunts the place is terrifying... I can imagine his grief and anger at seeing you involved in this murder... I would never allow that My girlfriend left alone even though we fought because these things can happen...
whatever and wherever she is may she rest in peace