LA LA - Mari Ann Fowler, 65, Port Allen, 24 Dec 2002

Oh, wow, I didn't think anyone even knew about this. I think about her all the time. I believe she was a victim of Derrick Todd Lee. There was some blood on a knife that was discovered at Geralyn De Soto's trial that was unexplained DNA. I believe he accosted and murdered and disposed of Mrs. Fowler in the Achafalaya Basin as he did with other victims.The swamps will never give it up.She had a remarkable resemblance to Mrs. Marino the mother of Pam Kinamore.Mrs. Marino was very vocal in support of her murdered daughter as well as Mrs. Pace, the mother of Murray Pace. He could have seen this as a threat and went after her. She was older but beautiful and her son has been an unrelenting spokesperson for his mom. Prayers for some end to this for her family!
 
She was kidnapped Christmas Eve 2002, on her way to the Texas prison where her husband, former elections commissioner Jerry Fowler, was serving a 5-year term for fraud. Her body was never found; a judge declared her dead in may 2004.
"Everyone knows where I've been for the last few years," Fowler told the hundreds of people, including his wife's 90-year-old mother, in Holy Ghost Catholic Church. He left the pulpit in tears after saying he and his wife had both loved country music and quoting a song by George Strait: "It's been a long hard ride. See you on the other side." Her son, John Anthony Pritchett, read the well-known poem beginning, "Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I shall not sleep." He also left the pulpit in tears.
Pritchett said he got much of his fighting spirit from his mother, and will fight through his grief and anger at the kidnapping and apparent murder.
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=3774629&nav=0RY5dptr
 
concernedperson said:
Oh, wow, I didn't think anyone even knew about this. I think about her all the time. I believe she was a victim of Derrick Todd Lee. There was some blood on a knife that was discovered at Geralyn De Soto's trial that was unexplained DNA. I believe he accosted and murdered and disposed of Mrs. Fowler in the Achafalaya Basin as he did with other victims.The swamps will never give it up.She had a remarkable resemblance to Mrs. Marino the mother of Pam Kinamore.Mrs. Marino was very vocal in support of her murdered daughter as well as Mrs. Pace, the mother of Murray Pace. He could have seen this as a threat and went after her. She was older but beautiful and her son has been an unrelenting spokesperson for his mom. Prayers for some end to this for her family!


Did LE ever do a DNA test on that knife and see if it matched Mari Ann's DNA?
I wonder if LE still has the knife. You would think they would if they are any good at all. Has anyone ever suggested that LE have that knife typed?
 
mysteriew said:
She was kidnapped Christmas Eve 2002, on her way to the Texas prison where her husband, former elections commissioner Jerry Fowler, was serving a 5-year term for fraud. Her body was never found; a judge declared her dead in may 2004.
"Everyone knows where I've been for the last few years," Fowler told the hundreds of people, including his wife's 90-year-old mother, in Holy Ghost Catholic Church. He left the pulpit in tears after saying he and his wife had both loved country music and quoting a song by George Strait: "It's been a long hard ride. See you on the other side." Her son, John Anthony Pritchett, read the well-known poem beginning, "Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I shall not sleep." He also left the pulpit in tears.
Pritchett said he got much of his fighting spirit from his mother, and will fight through his grief and anger at the kidnapping and apparent murder.
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=3774629&nav=0RY5dptr


How sad. I always thought a person had to be missing for 7 years before they could be declared dead. Law must have changed which is good.

Did anyone ever think that this murder had anything to do with politics as her husband was involved in them and he stole and went to prison? Maybe someone gettng back at him through someone he loved.
 
Oh my goodness, I had no idea this was here. I was checking to see if any new information had been discovered, did a Google search, and the link brought me right back to WS where I've been all day!

I think the reason she was declared dead so soon was because they had evidence that she was kidnapped, her belongings were scattered, never heard from again, and the serial killer was active during that time.

Here's something I found from early in the case, posted by the Southeast Missourian:

http://www.semissourian.com/story/97282.html

I remember this case vividly because it was on Christmas Eve, her husband was an ex-state official, and the serial killer was in the news, too. Yes, Mrs. Fowler did resemble a slain girl's mother who was constantly on the TV news. It was said the serial killer may have mistaken her for the activist mom.
 
http://www.wbrz.com/news/new-information-released-in-mari-ann-fowler-s-disappearance-33749/

Posted: Apr 26, 2012 10:28 PM
by Chris Nakamoto
Updated: Apr 26, 2012 10:28 PM

<snipped>
Boxes of evidence at the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office revealed never before seen photos of South Louisiana Serial Killer Derrick Todd Lee. From the moment Fowler disappeared, the South Louisiana Serial Killer task force began investigating, but they weren't able to determine whether Lee had something to do with it.
 
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4098/0/

Case Information
Status
Missing
First name
Mari Ann
Middle name
Last name
Fowler
Nickname/Alias
Date last seen
December 24, 2002 00:00
Date entered
12/22/2009
Age last seen
65 to 65 years old
Age now
76 years old
Race
White
Ethnicity
Sex
Female
Height (inches)
68.0
Weight (pounds)
132.0

5947
 
Not everyone will get closure with serial killer's unexpected death Thursday
January 21, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ By: Trey Schmaltz

Lee was convicted in two attacks but DNA linked him to five others. There are likely more, authorities speculate.
Mari Ann Fowler is believed to have been abducted and killed by Lee. She vanished from the parking lot of a sandwich shop in West Baton Rouge on Christmas Eve 2002. Her body was never found.

"There's two things that eat me up every day and one of them is I have no where to go to pay my respects to my mother and I've never given her the resting place I know she deserves," Fowler's son, John Pritchett said in an interview with WBRZ reporter Brittany Weiss.

Derrick Todd Lee dies without revealing what happened to Mari Ann Fowler — West Baton Rouge investigators say the case of her disappearance remains open


DNA Tests Come Up Empty in Case of Mari Ann Fowler
Undated from 2002-2003

Tonight new results are in for the heart-wrenching case of the kidnapping of Mari Ann Fowler - wife of former Elections Commissioner Jerry Fowler. For weeks her friends and family have been anxiously awaiting DNA tests from Fowler's fingernails that could tell whether her disappearance is linked to the south Louisiana serial killer. WAFB's Jennifer Hale has the results.

After careful testing, the Reliagene Lab in New Orleans could find no DNA evidence anywhere on Mari Ann Fowler's fake fingernail tips. These are the nails that likely popped off while Fowler struggled with her attacker. This means we can't link Fowler to serial killer suspect Derrick Todd Lee - but we also can't rule him out either.

In an exclusive interview, Fowler's only son says the news is a double edged sword, "I really hate to think of my mother having to suffer the way this person committed his crimes, but yet I need to know
 
Was the video of her abduction ever made public?

I'll pass by this subway shop again next month. I'll take pics to add to this thread.
 
They discussed Mari Ann's case on 'The Killing Fields' on Discovery tonight. They showed the grainy surveillance video.
 
Jan 25, 2016



  • mari_ann_fowler_2.jpg
  • mari_ann_fowler_4.jpg
  • mari_ann_fowler_5.jpg
  • mari_ann_fowler_6.jpg
  • mari_ann_fowler_7.jpg
Mari, circa 2002
  • Missing Since 12/24/2002
  • Missing From Port Allen, Louisiana
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 04/12/1937 (86)
  • Age 65 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'8, 132 pounds

  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A full-length black wool coat, dark gray pants, a light-colored shirt, diamond rings, diamond earrings, a diamond-encrusted watch, a diamond necklace and possibly a blue dog brooch.

  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown/red hair, brown eyes. Mari has scars from facelift surgery. She wears acrylic fingernails and her ears are pierced. Some agencies spell her name "MariAnn."

Details of Disappearance​

Mari was last seen standing outside a Subway sandwich shop in a strip mall on Louisiana Highway 415 west of Port Allen, Louisiana at 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 2002. Investigators believe she was abducted from that location.

Mari's belongings were found scattered on the pavement shortly after she disappeared, along with some of her acrylic fingernails which were possibly torn off in her struggle with her abductor. Robbery was probably not the motive for her kidnapping, as her food, purse and keys were left behind and wrapped Christmas presents were found in the backseat of her car.

A surveillance camera videotaped a General Motors pickup truck speeding away from the Subway around the time Mari disappeared. Tire tracks, possibly from the abduction vehicle, were found in the parking lot of the strip mall. The camera also caught the abduction suspect on tape but the image was not of sufficient quality to be used to identify anyone.

At the time of her disappearance, Mari was on her way to visit her husband, Jerry Fowler, a former Louisiana Elections Commissioner who was serving a five-year sentence in a Texas federal prison for bribery. He resigned his position in 1999 and pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks from voting machine contractors. Jerry's lawyers tried to get him furloughed from prison so he could help search for Mari, but they were unsuccessful. Investigators don't believe Jerry's criminal activities have anything to do with Mari's abduction. He died in 2009.

Authorities believe Mari's disappearance may be related to Derrick Todd Lee, the so-called Baton Rouge Serial Killer. A photograph of Lee is posted below this case summary. He has been charged with six other murders, attempted murder, and rape. He has been charged with murder in the disappearance of Randi Mebruer and is considered a suspect in the disappearances of Melinda McGhee and Glenn Tankersley as well.

Lee owns a truck similar to the one seen at the site of Mari's abduction, and cellular phone records place him nearby Mari when she was abducted. Police attempted to link Lee and Mari with DNA and were unsuccessful, but many investigators still believe Lee had something to do with Mari's disappearance.

Mari has never been located and neither Lee nor anyone else has been charged in her case. She was declared legally dead in May 2004, seventeen months after she was last seen. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.

Investigating Agency​

  • West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office 225-343-9234

Source Information​

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated June 6, 2015; details of disappearance updated.
 

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