LA LA - Ruth 'Ann' Manguno, 28, Folsom, May 1983

Does anyone remember a missing lady named Ann Mangueno from around mandvelle, La.? It was back in the eighties when I was a kid. I just wonder if the case was solved or not. Her name may be spelled wrong.

I remember this case well. I believe that it was Henry Lee Lucas who was responsible although he had so many other cases against him that it would have been pointless to prosecute it. I remember she disappeared without a trace and if i am not mistaken, many months or years, her skull was found by a mailbox. I had often thought of this case as I remember it well from my childhood and it happened near my home. There were flyers everywhere in all the local stores when she disappeared.
Thanks for bringing it up again. So sad that a woman can just disappear like that and that there is so little news of her case.

I haven't thought about the Manguno case in a long time, but remember it well. I followed it closely in the news, and I don't believe it was ever solved, nor the other two northshore cases in which Lucas was a suspect. This was around the time LE agencies were parading Lucas around the country like a celebrity, hoping he might provide answers to their cold cases. Unfortunately, some LEO's, like one St. Tammany Parish detective, were a little too eager. They tried to make the evidence fit the perp, and when it didn't, they were left with egg on their faces, and the cases were left by the wayside to grow colder.

http://www.vicfeazell.com/html/Grand Jury Clears Lucas In Three Cases.PDF

Like the three Lousiana cases, the disappearance of Tamera Ellen McCurry and the murders of Gloria Ann Stephan, Laura Marie Purchase, and others, went cold in Texas after LE failed to connect them to Lucas.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/article_c5cc6c10-751f-5f97-8ca9-3cc314e456db.html

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Cases from 1980-1989

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SwampMama, I believe it was several months after Manguno's disappearance that her skull was found.

I was about 12 at the time. I saw it on the news and it was the first time I had ever heard of some one disapearing. I thought I remembered a skull by a mailbox but thought I was wrong because if a skull were by a mailbox someone would have found it sooner. I guess I remembered correctly. And lucas the murder? This is the first I am hearing of him being a suspect. It gives me chills to think that lucas was in my neck of the woods. Does anyone know where she lived in folsom. was it a neighborhood or a more rural house?

I don't remember the exact location in Folsom, Alchemist, but it's doubtful that Lucas was the murderer. The first link I posted down thread explains why.

why are you asking?

did you know the family?

Welcome, ashfersch. It's been several months since the question was posted. I hope the poster will come back and reply.

At the time I used to go to Folsom every weekend. And when I saw the story on the news I never forgot Her name. And until now with computers I had no way of finding out what happened.

Facts:
1. Husband had a past "history" as a young man, which included a divorce, auto theft, and an all-around Bad Boy image
2. Sometime before she died (a week?) she asked the ladies in her Bible study to pray for her since she was "having troubles in her marriage."
3. Ruth Ann Blake Manguno went missing without a trace from her rural home in Folsom, LA, May 1983. Her baby was left in her crib. There were no signs of forced entry.
4. A decomposing human skull appeared in a neighbor's mail box in August 1983 and, using dental records, was matched to Ruth Ann. She was no longer a Missing Person.
3. With the evidence of a death, her husband collected life insurance from a policy on the 28? year old mother
4. (Some of?) The money was used to purchase at least two 4-wheelers, a pool, a boat
5. Husband had a weapons collection he kept on his wall in a see-through case. This collection included a ninja throwing disk, sword, s-shaped dagger, and a giant pair of scissors. He is/was a former Marine.
6. June? 1984, husband marries a 3rd wife, who is in her early 20's. She is already pregnant.
7. Husband converts to Evangelical Christianity, and years later, witnesses to men... who are incarcerated in prison
8. Yet, from time to time, he still has public displays of anger up to and including cursing and punching a man in the face

Trust Me:
9. Has a reputation for being controlling, sensitive to perceived criticism, and needing attention
10. Has a reputation for treating his family the way he treats his animals: He isolates, emotionally abuses, and controls

My theory:
Ruth Ann Blake was thinking of her daughter's well-being when she started to consider leaving her husband or demanding changes in their marriage, which may have included moving closer to town. During a heated argument, husband lost his temper and accidentally killed her. He spent the next several hours of the night and early morning covering up the accident and disposing of the body before placing his daughter safely in her crib and heading to work, leaving the door open, knowing someone else would eventually "discover" that very day that Ruth Ann was missing. Later, he tried to collect insurance and was told that, without evidence of death, he couldn't make a legitimate claim. Since he disposed of the body, he knew where it was, so he retrieved the one body part that could positively identify her remains: the skull. He then placed the skull in/by a neighbor's mail box, knowing that someone would soon find the skull and call authorities.

More Evidence:
If the above were NOT the case then why do her Blake relatives, (ex)husband, or child re-open this cold case? Why aren't they trying to find the real killer? Trying to save others' the same pain by having this kidnapper/murderer locked up? Doesn't Ruth Ann have siblings, parents, or cousins? Forensics have come a very long way since the early 1980's, and many cold cases from 20-30 years are being solved today.

I thought she spoke with someone on the phone that morning. It's been so many years, I could be wrong. What I remember is that her Bible was open on the kitchen or dining room table. There was a cup of coffee there too, I believe. Everything appeared totally "normal". For some reason it stuck in my mind that there was a witness other than her husband who could account her for that morning.

I agree with you that it's odd no one has reported on this murder in years.

I believe Ann's friend discovered the situation when she arrived at the house since they were meeting up that day. I wish there were more information online, even an old local news reel, but I can't find any news reports about the crime scene. I wonder if it was possible to stage the house to look like that. It's an unfortunate set of circumstances but it sure does deserve a second investigation. Who would want to kill her? What would be the motive? It's just plain weird.

The_Dude said:

I believe Ann's friend discovered the situation when she arrived at the house since they were meeting up that day. I wish there were more information online, even an old local news reel, but I can't find any news reports about the crime scene. I wonder if it was possible to stage the house to look like that.

It's an unfortunate set of circumstances and it sure does deserve a second investigation. Who (else) would want to kill her? What would be the motive? Why did her head just show up like that? Who benefits from this? It's just plain weird.

Click to expand...

I guess we can only hope and pray unless someone from her family or the local police department contacts the FBI.

ashfersch said:

why are you asking?

Click to expand...

I am familiar with the area. And I always remembered the story on the news. Were you a friend?

I always found it incredibly odd how little was reported on this case. I remember being a teen in that area and hearing the news and seeing the flyers in the local small convenience stores. It has always remained in my mind. If the skull was found in the mailbox then that does not seem like a Henry Lee Lucas type thing. I had also hear a dog found the skull and put it by a mailbox. i wonder which is true? This case has been with me for decades.

Was the body ever found? If a dog found the skull the rest of the remains would probably be in a reasonable distance. Does anyone know where there house was?

I think police were too hasty in pinning this on Henry Lee Lucas. After all, they could close the case that way, Henry Lee Lucas was a known killer (not just an innocent man whose life would be ruined by a false accusation or have to serve jail time for a crime he didnt do, he was already going to spend life in jail regardless).

It is entirely possible that cops simply refused to really investigate this or stay on the case because sometimes that's how things go in a small town where everyone knows everyone. I don't know anything about Ruth Ann's husband or his family (or hers) but it is possible that he had family connections or other connections that helped to protect him.

I just always thought it was so odd that this case got so little coverage and is merely a small blurb on a few old newspapers which are hard to find.

What the hell would Lucas be doing in Folsom? It isn't exactly on the way to anywhere. And I don't see anything there for an outsider to be doing around there.

I live in covington and my neighbors just told me about this case. Me and my sister are headed to grand isle for a couple days and my neighbors said that's where her husband now lives with his new wife. I will post if I find out for sure he lives there now.