AZ AZ - Marsha Wilson, 20, Payson, 30 July 1979

[dotr]

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-no...r-old-cold-case-of-woman-murdered-near-payson

PAYSON, AZ - 38 years later, the Gila County Sheriff's Office is making a new push to answer one question: Who killed Marsha Wilson?

Wilson, 20, was found dead alongside SR 87 back in 1979. According to authorities, her body was found near a guardrail just south of Payson, between the 244 & 245 mile marker.

According to authorities, in 1979 Wilson moved from Southern California to Phoenix to take care of her grandmother. On July 29th, 1979, Wilson is believed to have been heading to the Verde River, according to authorities. Neighbors also reported giving her a ride to a Valley mall to go shoe shopping. The following day, July 30th, is when a passerby found her body near Payson. Authorities confirmed she was wearing a swimsuit when she was found.

[video=youtube;eDfNZDkZVeM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDfNZDkZVeM[/video]

 

[dotr]

http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/c...cle_5b6c8cb5-1665-5b93-bf5d-c5ae66a2fe38.html

[h=1]Payson murder cold case re-opened on 38th anniversary[/h]

by Alexis Bechman

In an unmarked grave somewhere in California, lie the remains of a 20-year-old woman found strangled to death and left in a red and white bathing suit on the side of the Beeline Highway south of Payson.

Sgt. David Hornung, recently promoted to help oversee the criminal investigations bureau, said the case struck a chord in him and he can’t rest until he finds her killer.


“And it is because of the fact I feel so much that she has been forgotten,” he said.


From newspaper clippings and a tattered case file of notes and letters, Hornung has pieced together what little information is known about Wilson and what happened to her that night.


But much remains unanswered.


How did Wilson’s body wind up near Payson, miles from the Verde River where she had reportedly met friends? And who sent an anonymous letter to the GCSO saying they had seen a trucker pick up Wilson?

She told her grandmother she had met someone in a park near their home on North 29th Place in Phoenix and was going to meet them the next day at the Verde River off State Route 87, outside Fountain Hills.

Wilson was blond, blue-eyed, 5-foot-6, 103 pounds and wearing a rust-colored skirt over a one piece white and red striped bathing suit. She had a silver ring with a mother of pearl on her right forefinger.

Wilson may have been at a “beer party” at the Verde River, according to newspaper reports from 1979.


She had alcohol in her blood and there was evidence she had recently had sexual intercourse.

An autopsy later revealed she had been strangled.


About a week after the murder, the GCSO received an anonymous letter saying they had seen Wilson picked up on the Beeline.

Wilson’s mother, who died in 2005, reportedly could never accept her daughter’s death and refused to put a tombstone on her grave.


If you have any information about Wilson’s death, contact Hornung at 928-474-2208.

 

[4SAM]

If there was evidence of sexual intercourse, was there DNA? Also could it mean it was consensual as she was still wearing bathing suit? Did she have a car? How did she get there if a neighbor said they had to give her a ride the day before?

 

[dotr]

The man who has reopened this case Sergeant David Hornung, seems like just the kind of LE who might inspire someone to give a tip or lead in this cold case, seems like a very chill guy, imo.
rbbm.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news...ting-human-during-flash-flood-tragedy-9510147

Hornung has been with the Gila County Sheriff's Office for 13 years. The flash flood incident at the Water Wheel campsite was his first case as a Public Information Officer. He was trained in the military to be a PIO, which meant 40 hours of learning how to write, speak, and act around reporters. But that was 17 years ago.

He's still friendly to press and treats them all fairly. He believes the most respectable quality is following through, so if he tells a reporter, a volunteer, or a victim family member that he will come back with answers, then he will.

He's one of the few law enforcement officers on the scene who didn't shy away and say they're bad on camera, despite this being his first spin as PIO. When he's on camera, he often pauses looking for the right word to describe the situation, but it never comes out scripted, always conversational.

He's become the face of a national story, which has prompted phone calls from former high school classmates, neighbors, and friends saying they saw him on TV.

Recently, he opened up a 38-year-old homicide cold case he is confident he can crack

Hornung said he goes home and cleans to relax. He cranks the music from his favorite bands, The Allman Brothers or Rush. In true symbolic nature, his anthem is "Working Man" by Rush.

 

[dotr]

If there was evidence of sexual intercourse, was there DNA? Also could it mean it was consensual as she was still wearing bathing suit? Did she have a car? How did she get there if a neighbor said they had to give her a ride the day before?

If DNA is available, it would be great if they could get a Parabon Snapshot composite of potential perp(s).Since Marsha was strangled it might imply that the murder was personal making it easier for a potential perp to be identified.imo.
On the other hand, Marsha had only been in Arizona for a week after moving there from California in order to help her grandmother, so how could she know anyone well enough for them to kill her in a crime of passion?. speculation.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/c...cle_5b6c8cb5-1665-5b93-bf5d-c5ae66a2fe38.html

Officers received several tips that Wilson was seen hitchhiking that night about four miles north of Shea Boulevard, but none panned out

About a week after the murder, the GCSO received an anonymous letter saying they had seen Wilson picked up on the Beeline.

Hornung said he is determined to solve the case. He takes the case files home so he can pore over every detail.


Hornung said he plans to go to the Valley and Globe and look for old files.

“I am one of those people who won’t take no for answer, I will dig through stuff.”

 

[thefragile7393]

good to hear....wow the case is as old as I am

 

[Tulessa]

Was just coming to post this. Thanks dotr!

 

[4SAM]

If DNA was taken, would it still be good quality to retest after all this time? I agree, her being in town only a week does not sound like she would have angered someone enough to kill her. Also, since that was where her grandmother lived, has she visited that area before and stayed during summers, vacations?