Murder of Marcia King
Marcia Lenore Sossoman (King)[5] (June 9, 1959 – April 22, 1981) was a 21-year-old Arkansas woman who was murdered in April 1981 and whose body was discovered in Troy, Ohio approximately 48 hours after her murder. Her body remained unidentified for 36 years before being identified via DNA analysis and genetic genealogy in April 2018.[6] King was the first unidentified decedent to be identified via this method of forensic investigation.[7][8]
Marcia King | |
---|---|
Born | Marcia Lenore King June 9, 1959[1] |
Disappeared | Circa 1980 Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, U.S.[2] |
Died | April 22, 1981 21) [3] | (aged
Cause of death | Homicide by strangulation |
Body discovered | April 24, 1981 |
Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Troy, Miami County, Ohio 39.9660°N 84.3256°W (approximate) |
Known for | Formerly unidentified victim of homicide |
Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) (approximate) |
Parent(s) | Jonathan W. Sossoman† Bonnie Bryant-King[4] |
Prior to her 2018 identification, King was informally known as "Buckskin Girl" and "Miami County Jane Doe".[9] The first of these two names is in reference to the distinctive tasseled buckskin poncho[10] she was wearing at the time of her discovery.[11][12]
Following the identification of her body, Marcia King's family erected a new headstone at her grave in Riverside Cemetery, inscribed with her actual name. The investigation into her murder is ongoing.[5]
Discovery
On April 24, 1981, three young men discovered the body of a young Caucasian woman in a ditch alongside Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio.[13][14] One of the three men, Greg Bridenbaugh, initially noticed the decedent's distinctive buckskin poncho. Informing one of his companions, Neal Hoffman, to take a look at the coat, Hoffman walked closer to the article of clothing before turning toward Bridenbaugh, stating: "Oh my God, there's a woman in that coat!"[15][n 1] The young woman was lying in a fetal position, on her right side, and without shoes or socks.[2][3] These members of the public called police to report their discovery.[17]
Autopsy
The decedent's body was autopsied on the afternoon of her discovery. The medical examination revealed she had suffered extensive blunt force trauma to the head and neck,[18] before she had been strangled to death[13] approximately 48 hours before her body was discovered.[19] In addition, her liver had also been lacerated.[20] She had not been subjected to any form of sexual assault.[21]
The woman had been between 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) and 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) in height, aged between eighteen and twenty-six, and weighed 125–130 pounds (57–59 kg).[22][23] She had naturally reddish-brown hair, which was parted in the middle and braided into pigtails on both sides of her head.[11][12][23][22] Her eyes were light brown in color, and she had freckles across her face.[11] In addition, her nose was described as being "very pointed".[24] The victim also had a ruddy complexion, indicating she had spent a lot of time outdoors in the final weeks or months of her life.[11][25]
The young woman had maintained a high level of personal hygiene. All her teeth, including her wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work,[26] except for one porcelain crown upon her upper-right incisor.[3][27] The coroner also noted several scars upon her body, including a vertical scar beneath her chin, with other scars also visible upon one wrist, both arms, and one ankle.[28][29]
Clothing
The young woman was dressed in blue bell-bottom Wrangler jeans, a brown turtleneck pullover sweater with an orange crisscross design on the front, a white size 32D bra,[11] and a hoodless deerskin poncho with purple lining, which appeared to be handmade.[25][12][28] She wore no shoes or socks.[23] No form of identification was located upon her body or at the crime scene.[28][29]
Initial investigation
Because the decedent's body was found approximately 48 hours after her death,[30] police were able to obtain her fingerprints and dental information. The dental charts and fingerprints of this decedent yielded no results matching her to any known missing person, and her fingerprints matched no police records, indicating she had no criminal record.[31] Early police efforts to identify this decedent also involved the creation of a composite drawing of her face which was published in local newspapers and broadcast on television networks on April 28, 1981.[32] This initial media publicity surrounding the murder generated approximately two hundred leads. Although all were investigated, all failed to bear fruition.[13]
The victim gradually became known as "Buckskin Girl" in reference to the distinctive tasseled buckskin jacket she was wearing when found.[11][12][33] The failure to establish her identity hindered investigators' efforts to solve her murder. As her identity remained undiscovered, investigating authorities came to increasingly believe the reason Buckskin Girl remained unidentified had been due to the fact that she had been murdered far from her hometown.[34] A retired investigator is also known to have opined his belief the decedent was highly unlikely to have originated from the area where she was discovered.[16]
Authorities strongly believed Buckskin Girl had been murdered elsewhere and her body discarded beside the road shortly after her death.[32][22] This conclusion was supported by the fact her bare feet were clean, showing no indication of her having walked upon a dirty surface, and because Interstate 75 is just five miles (8 km) from where her body was recovered, making the site a convenient and discreet location to discard a body.[35] Police and the media later speculated that she may have been a teenage runaway or a possible victim of a serial killer known to have murdered several prostitutes in the region during the 1980s and 1990s.[21][11][25] However, her body had not been subjected to any form of sexual assault, indicating she was unlikely to have been a sex worker.[11]
The investigation into Buckskin Girl's murder gradually became a cold case,[36] although police and other officials continued to investigate her murder. Her clothing and other physical evidence recovered at the crime scene was retained, and a sample of her blood preserved.[16]
Theories
Lifestyle
Investigators theorized that Buckskin Girl had been a runaway teenager, a foster child, or a transient wanderer unlikely to have spent a significant period of time in Ohio prior to her death, although her high quality of personal hygiene strongly indicated that she had not lived as a vagrant.[11] As her body was located close to a town road instead of a highway, the probability of her being a wanderer for a significant amount of time was considered to be negligible.[24] The absence of her footwear at the crime scene led some investigators to believe she may have been murdered by an abusive partner.[24]
A 2016 isotope analysis of the decedent's hair and fingernails revealed Buckskin Girl had spent approximately four months in areas within the Southwestern and/or Southeastern United States, as opposed to Ohio, prior to her murder,[37] although the forensic palynology tests had revealed she had most likely originated from either the Northeastern United States or Canada, or had spent a significant amount of time in these regions in the year prior to her murder.[38][39][40]
Link to other murders
Initially, investigators speculated to a potential connection between this decedent and the murder of a 27-year-old woman two months earlier, in February 1981, although police never officially linked these two murders.[32]
In 1985, investigators tentatively linked the murder of Buckskin Girl to a nationwide series of murders of caucasian women—several of whom were sex workers or erotic dancers—known as the Redhead Murders. However, this theory was eventually disproven.[41]
Some investigators also speculated that Buckskin Girl may have been the first of numerous young women murdered by a suspected unidentified serial killer who perpetrated his known murders between 1985 and 2004—many of which were of known or suspected sex workers.[42][n 2] This serial killer was suspected to have murdered between seven and ten other young women.[43][44] All the victims of this suspected serial killer had been murdered via bludgeoning or strangulation, and items of clothing or jewelry were missing from each crime scene.
Jewelry and footwear was also missing from the crime scene of Buckskin Girl, and she had been murdered in a similar manner to these victims.[43] However, several elements of evidence were found to contradict this theory. There was no indication Buckskin Girl had engaged in any form of sexual activity prior to her death.[11][43] In addition, unlike many of the victims of this serial killer, she was markedly well-groomed, with a history of dental care.[43][44]
In 1991, a newly established task force convened in London, Ohio. This task force was dedicated to the investigation of these unsolved homicides, which had occurred in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois and composed of investigators from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies.[44]
Further forensic analysis
With advances in technology and the increasing use of DNA analysis in criminal investigations, investigators were able to extract the decedent's DNA from the blood sample preserved in 1981.[3] This DNA sample was added to the growing number of law enforcement databases.[16]
In 2001, the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory generated a DNA profile of Buckskin Girl,[5] this data was entered into the newly established National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database in 2008, through which her fingerprints, dental and DNA information were made nationally accessible to law enforcement.[34] This data was able to conclusively rule out any possibility of 226 missing teenage girls and young women as Buckskin Girl.[3] In 2009, a mitochondrial DNA sample was submitted to the FBI for inclusion within the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).[45]
The following year, the NamUs case management of Buckskin Girl was assigned to Dr Elizabeth Murray, a Cincinnati based forensic anthropologist and professor of biology, who remained active in her pursuit of the decedent's identity.[5]
Facial reconstruction
In April 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an updated forensic facial reconstruction of the victim and added her case to their website, depicting her with and without her braided pigtails.[27] This image was extensively distributed via online media, although initially, no significant leads developed.[46]
Pollen analysis
In 2016, the Miami County Police Department approved forensic palynology testing upon the victim's clothing in their efforts to identify her and her murderer(s). This testing was conducted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency.[39] The results of this testing suggested Buckskin Girl had either originated within the Northeastern United States, or had spent a significant amount of time in this region in the year prior to her murder. Her clothing also contained high levels of soot from exposure to vehicular traffic and/or industrial activity, supporting investigators' initial suspicions she may have been a habitual hitchhiker.[47] In addition, the pollen[48] recovered from her external clothing suggested that, shortly before her murder, she had been in an arid climate such as the Western United States, or northern Mexico.[49]
Identification
On April 9, 2018, the Miami Valley Crime Laboratory announced they had identified the decedent as 21-year-old Marcia Lenore King of Little Rock, Arkansas.[50][51] Her identification had been achieved via DNA analysis conducted by the DNA Doe Project, with assistance from the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory.[52][53] This organization had been contacted by Dr Murray in 2017, and was able to successfully match a sample of King's DNA to a sample submitted for comparison by a first cousin.[54] Her family declined to release a press statement, requesting that their confidentiality be respected.[55]
King had last been seen by her family in 1980. She had never officially been reported as a missing person, although her family had continued to search for her.[2] It is believed King had frequently hitchhiked as a means of transportation, as investigators had long theorized prior to her identification. She is also known to have had ties with both the Pittsburg and Louisville, Kentucky districts.[56][n 3]
Addressing the media to announce the formal identification of Buckskin Girl, a spokesman for the Miami County Police Department informed all present: "Law enforcement never forgets. We've had a long journey to [be] where we are today."[58] This spokesman also emphasized the investigation into King's homicide is ongoing,[8] with the primary focus being upon King's movements in the last month of her life, when she was known to have been in both Pittsburgh and Louisville.[59]
Ongoing investigation
In July 2018, the Miami County Police Department announced they had received further information regarding King's actual whereabouts shortly prior to her death. This information included eyewitness accounts placing her in Louisville, Kentucky, approximately 14 days before her death.[50] Six eyewitnesses have also corroborated accounts of King also being in Arkansas shortly before her murder. It is believed the reason she had traveled to Ohio may have been due to her suspected involvement with the religious organization The Way.[7]
In February 2020, the Miami County Sheriff's Office announced they had been able to further reconstruct King's whereabouts, and relationships, in the two weeks prior to her murder,[60] adding that as advances in technology now mean Nuclear DNA samples can be retrieved from hair samples missing the actual root, they remained confident hair samples discovered at the crime scene and submitted to a renowned Californian paleogeneticist could yield a Nuclear DNA profile of either her murderer, or an individual she had been in the company of very shortly before her death.[61] Addressing these latest developments, Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchalk stated: "We always have hopes to bring justice for homicide victims and their families. We never have, nor will we ever forget, and will continually work the case and, as new technologies are developed, will review our evidence to learn if it is worth re-submitting."[62]
Miami County Sheriff Steve Lord, addressing the media to announce the formal identification of Buckskin Girl. April 2018.[63]
Funeral
King had been buried as a Jane Doe at Riverside Cemetery in Miami County, Ohio weeks after her death, with several officers assigned to investigate her murder serving as pallbearers at her funeral.[64] Following the identification of her body, King's family chose for her to remain buried within this cemetery, with her stepmother, Cindy Sossoman, explaining her family's belief that it had been God's plan that their daughter was to be murdered and to remain unidentified for so long, they believed King was blessed[65] to have passed away within a community which had shown such consideration and dignity to her while she had remained unidentified.[5] Her parents had long since divorced, and her father, John Wesley Sossoman, had remarried, having several children with his second wife, all of whom had long wondered as to King's whereabouts and welfare.[5]
On July 20, 2018, a memorial service for King was held at a chapel in Troy, Ohio. This service was officiated by the Reverend Gregory Simmons. Her new headstone was unveiled at this service.[5] Marcia's father, John, had died on January 5, 2018. Her brother, Daniel King, and half-brother, Jonathan Sossoman, had also died by the time King's identity was discovered.[4] Marcia's stepmother and eight other surviving family members replaced the headstone simply reading "Jane Doe" with a headstone bearing her actual name at this service, which was attended by over fifty local residents. Describing King's personality, her stepmother described her as a "very trusting" young woman, before informing all present: "Words don't describe the feelings we have for all of you, how you have loved her and taken her in your arms."[66]
See also
Notes
- These members of the public had first noticed the decedent's deerskin poncho lying alongside Greenlee Road before discovering her body.[16]
- These cases were originally linked by a reporter who had discovered similarities among nine nationwide unsolved murders of young women (the majority committed in Ohio).[43]
- In the hope her daughter would initiate contact, King's mother had both continued to reside at the same house she lived in at the time of her daughter's disappearance, and kept the same phone number, should her daughter either return home or telephone her.[57]
References
- Winsor, Morgan (April 12, 2018). "Body of 'Buckskin Girl' Found in Ohio in 1981 Identified as Arkansas Woman". American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- Vallieu, Melody (April 11, 2018). "'Buckskin Girl' Identified". Troy Daily News. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
- "NamUs UP # 4790". identifyus.org. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- "Jack W. Sossoman". Penwell-Gabel Home Send Flowers. January 5, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- Ullery, Michael (July 20, 2018). "Sossoman Given Back Her Name". Troy Daily News. AIM Media Midwest. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ""Buckskin Girl" Case: DNA Breakthrough Leads to ID of 1981 Murder Victim". Crimesider. American Broadcasting Company. April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- Thomason, Tyler (April 11, 2019). "Ohio Cold Case Develops New Timeline, Puts Murder Victim in Arkansas Two Weeks Before Death". FOX16. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
- "Miami County Sheriff's Office Identifies 1981 Cold Case Victim". April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- Spain, Jamie (April 12, 2018). "37 Years After Young Woman's Mysterious Slaying, She is Finally Identified". People. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- "After 37 Years, Murder Victim Buckskin Girl Has Her Name Back". April 14, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- "Case File 133UFOH". The Doe Network. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- Besso, Donna (July 25, 2008). "Need Help Identifying "The Buckskin Girl"". Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- "Victim Still Unidentified". April 30, 1981. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
- O'Neil, Helen (March 30, 2008). "Amateur Sleuths Restore Identity to the Dead". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
- "'Buckskin Gril' Identified". April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- "Miami County Authorities Still Working on Jane Doe Case". WHIO. Cox Media Group. April 24, 2015. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- "New Technology Being Used in 'Buckskin Girl' Case". February 22, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Mullen, Shannon (April 30, 2016). "Was Strangled 'Buckskin Girl' from New Jersey?". Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- "Buckskin Girl". dnadoeproject.org. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
- Ramsey, Rachelle (August 29, 1994). "Jane Doe Doesn't Have a Name or Suspect". Retrieved September 29, 2015.
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- "Strangulation Cause of Death". April 27, 1981. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
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- "Help Crime Watch Daily and Carl Koppelman Give Names to These 5 Murder Victims". Crime Watch Daily. Fox. October 10, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- "Miami County Jane Doe, OH". Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- "Justice for the 'Buckskin Girl'". The Fairborn Daily Herald. November 19, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- "Jane Doe 1981". missingkids.org. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. February 11, 2016. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- "Ohio Unsolved Homicides". Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- "Miami Ohio Jane Doe April 1981". 2012. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
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- Togneri, Chris (June 4, 2016). "Slain Jane Doe's Curious Case in Ohio Still Puzzles After 35 Years". TribLIVE.com.
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- Vallieu, Melody (July 16, 2016). "'Buckskin Girl' Not From Ohio". WDTN. Troy Daily News. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- Hollenhorst, John (July 6, 2016). "Utah Firm Makes Breakthrough in 1981 Ohio Murder Case". KSL. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- Aldrich, Marta W. (April 25, 1985). "Officials Puzzle Over String of Redhead Murders". Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
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- Kennedy, Megan (April 27, 2016). "Miami Co. Cold Case Heats Up With Facial Reconstruction, Other developments". WDTN News. Media General. LIN Television Corporation. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
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- Baker, Steve (April 27, 2016). "New Developments Could ID 'Jane Doe' Found Dead 35 Years Ago". WHIO. Cox Media Group. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- Nancy Bowman (July 20, 2018). "Gravesite for 'Buckskin Girl': Gets New Headstone With Her Name". whiotv.
- ""Buckskin Girl" Case: DNA Breakthrough Leads to ID of 1981 Murder Victim". Crimesider. American Broadcasting Company. April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- Seth Augenstein (April 16, 2018). "'Buck Skin Girl' Case Break is Success of New DNA Doe Project". Forensic Magazine.
- Kennett, Debbie (April 28, 2018). "The Brave New World of Genetic Genealogy". MIT Technology Review.
- Zhang, Sarah (April 27, 2018). "How a Genealogy Website Led to the Alleged Golden State Killer". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- "Miami County Sheriff's Office Identifies 1981 Cold Case Victim". April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- "Jane 'Buckskin Girl' Doe Identified After 37 Years". Fox 19. April 11, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- Smith, Dana (April 11, 2018). "Cold Case Homicide Victim Identified after 37 Years". WTDN 2. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- Eustachewich, Lia (April 12, 2018). "Murdered 'Buckskin Girl' Finally Identified 37 Years Later". The New York Post. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- Bowman, Nancy (April 11, 2018). "Woman in Cold Case Murder Finally Identified 37 Years Later". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- "Forensic Genealogy to Be Used in Miami County Unsolved Homicides". WHIO. February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- "New Technology Being Used in 'Buckskin Girl' Case". February 22, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- "New Technology Being Used in 'Buckskin Girl' Case". February 21, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- "After 37 Years, Murder Victim Buckskin Girl Has Her Name Back". April 14, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- Mullen, Shannon (April 30, 2016). "Was Strangled 'Buckskin Girl' from New Jersey?". USA Today. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- Ullery, Michael (July 20, 2018). "Sossoman Given Back Her Name". Troy Daily News. AIM Media Midwest. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- Bowman, Nancy (July 20, 2018). "Gravesite for 'Buckskin Girl' Gets New Headstone with Her Name". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
Cited works and further reading
- Halber, Deborah (2015). The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America's Coldest Cases. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-451-65758-6.
- Katz, Hélèna (2010). Cold Cases: Famous Unsolved Mysteries, Crimes, and Disappearances in America. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-37692-4.
- Latham, Krista E.; Bartelink, Eric J.; Finnegan, Michael (2017). New Perspectives in Forensic Human Skeletal Identification. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-128-05429-1.
- Murray, Elizabeth A. (2012). Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 978-1-467-70139-6.
- Newton, Michael (2004). The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-816-07818-9.
- Pettem, Silvia (2017). The Long Term Missing: Hope and Help for Families. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-442-25680-4.
- Shoester, Maria (2006). Forensics in Law Enforcement. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1-600-21164-5.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marcia King. |
- Contemporary news article pertaining to the 2018 forensic identification of Buckskin Girl
- DNA Doe Project webpage pertaining to the identification of Buckskin Girl
- Marcia King at Find a Grave