AZ AZ- Marion Berry Ouma, 25, heiress to large fortune, fatally shot, body found down an encampment, MOHAVE COUNTY, 13 Dec '78, *New initiative*

[Betty P]

Yeah, really weird case.

Well-educated, worldly young woman from a very prominent family and there seems to be literally no information about the last 2 years of her life when she somehow went from being an English teacher in Africa to seemingly living on the fringes of society in Vegas.

Some reports list her as 25 and some as 31 but 31 makes much more sense if she was already teaching in Kenya in 1971 and had presumably obtained a post-secondary teaching degree before that.

Yes, the census records for 1950 that I found at Ancestry would have her age at 31. Not sure why the newspapers kept reporting it as 25.

 

[SophieRose]

Yes, the census records for 1950 that I found at Ancestry would have her age at 31. Not sure why the newspapers kept reporting it as 25.

Her gravesite.

Marion Berry Fox (1949-1979) - Find a Grave...

MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. — The Mohave County Sheriff's Office Special Investigation Unit is requesting the public's assistance in a cold case homicide investigation from 1979. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit seeks the public's help solving the apparent homicide of...

www.findagrave.com

 

[Betty P]

She had a college degree in Physical Education. She taught it in school I Kenya. She was an active athlete playing many sports through high school and college. How did she end up in Las Vegas?

 

[Betty P]

Evicted and murdered right as her luck was about to change in a cruel twist of fate. I’m reminded of John List with the Tiffany skylight. I hope there’s a sliding doors universe where Marion became a passionate philanthropist and lived to a ripe old age.

Thanks so much for your input on the local neighborhood back then. There are quite a few cold cases here at WS - young women murdered in Las Vegas during the 70's, 80's and 90's. There must have been at least 1 or 2 serial killers there.

 

[SophieRose]

Brother is the one who would like to find what happened. He says she used to hitchhike in those days.

Arizona deputies ask for help in 1979 homicide near Hoover Dam

The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding who killed the granddaughter of the Yellow Pages founder, whose body was found near the Hoover Dam in 1979.

www.wlox.com

 

[Betty P]

Brother is the one who would like to find what happened. He says she used to hitchhike in those days.

Arizona deputies ask for help in 1979 homicide near Hoover Dam

The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding who killed the granddaughter of the Yellow Pages founder, whose body was found near the Hoover Dam in 1979.

www.wlox.com

Oh, that's so nice. The hitchhiking information helps. Perhaps she was hitchhiking and was picked up by someone who took her somewhere to murder her.

This is what she was wearing when found

"Ouma is described as a white female, 25 years old, approximately 5’5" and 106 lbs, with hazel eyes and brown hair that she often wore in a ponytail. At the time of her death, she was wearing green sweatpants and a dark blue short-sleeve blouse," detectives said.

It doesn't say anything about her wearing a jacket or overcoat. Is the weather still pretty warm in Las Vegas in early January? If she was hitching a ride, would she have been dressed in a short sleeve blouse and sweatpants?

Weather Underground says in the late 90's (earliest data) the daytime average temperature was 64 and 50 at night.

 

[lydiafaithfull]

She had a college degree in Physical Education. She taught it in school I Kenya. She was an active athlete playing many sports through high school and college. How did she end up in Las Vegas?

Choosing to stay in a city full of strangers instead of returning home for Christmas feels pretty telling. I don’t want to judge her family or home life, but something kept her away. What I can’t fathom is how Marion chose a path of working with kids and underserved communities, but no one showed up for her when she was evicted. This will sound harsh, but what did they think would happen? That she would pull herself up by her bootstraps with a little “tough love”? She was tossed out and danger found her. You don’t leave women to sleep on park benches.

 

[lydiafaithfull]

Thanks so much for your input on the local neighborhood back then. There are quite a few cold cases here at WS - young women murdered in Las Vegas during the 70's, 80's and 90's. There must have been at least 1 or 2 serial killers there.

Anytime, it’s a wild place. During Covid forensic genealogy uncovered two that came after Marion. Johnny Blake Peterson and Darren Roy Marchand. Both on opposite sides of the Strip when jurisdictions barely communicated their findings. Both men died young in the 90s, but there are more obviously.

 

[dotr]

August 30th 2024 rbbm

Mary Ouma

A young heiress shot to death and tossed over a guardrail near hoover dam.her killer.... never found.now... 45 years later, one very determined investigator...

news3lv.com

'Marion Ouma was found shot to death on January 3rd, 1979.
''Lori Miller says because of that date they called her New Year Nancy.'
Miller says there were no observable defensive wounds, no sexual assault, and no scrapings under Ouma's nails they could get.'

'There's evidence detectives have that they still hope will lead them to a killer.
Lori Miller says (holding a bag), "These were the pants she was wearing."
'Her husband was never a suspect.'

'A mid-70s powder blue Chevy Blazer or Ford Bronco with a CB antenna was spotted near the site where her body was dumped.
Miller says, "I think she was in that vehicle when she was killed. She was shot once front to back, and then when she leaned over there was one shot to the top of her head."
Ouma's hands were also covered in blood and animal hair possibly from a dog or cat.''

Aug 30, 2024

 

[Betty P]

August 30th 2024 rbbm

Mary Ouma

A young heiress shot to death and tossed over a guardrail near hoover dam.her killer.... never found.now... 45 years later, one very determined investigator...

news3lv.com

'Marion Ouma was found shot to death on January 3rd, 1979.
''Lori Miller says because of that date they called her New Year Nancy.'
Miller says there were no observable defensive wounds, no sexual assault, and no scrapings under Ouma's nails they could get.'

'There's evidence detectives have that they still hope will lead them to a killer.
Lori Miller says (holding a bag), "These were the pants she was wearing."
'Her husband was never a suspect.'

'A mid-70s powder blue Chevy Blazer or Ford Bronco with a CB antenna was spotted near the site where her body was dumped.
Miller says, "I think she was in that vehicle when she was killed. She was shot once front to back, and then when she leaned over there was one shot to the top of her head."
Ouma's hands were also covered in blood and animal hair possibly from a dog or cat.''

Aug 30, 2024

Very helpful new information.

• She had only been in Las Vegas less than 2 months when she was killed
• She was separated from her husband and he's not a suspect (was he still in Africa?)
• No evidence of sexual assault
• LE ruled out any involvement with drugs or criminal activity
• No one, including family, knew why she went to live in Las Vegas
• Believe she was in the blue Blazer or Bronco when she was killed. Her hands were bloodied, so its believed she was sitting in the car when shot in the stomach. When she bent forward, she was then shot in the top of the head
• Her body was found on an embankment that's much closer to the Hoover Dam than news reports indicated. She was in a spot that overlooked the lower part of the dam
• She wasn't working at a job in Las Vegas
• She had animal hair on her hands, etc. so believed there was a dog or cat
• Nothing detected for fingernail scrapings, etc.
• They still have her clothing, items found at the crime scene, etc.

It would be helpful if they could say when she left Africa and returned to the US. It seems possible she met someone who lived in or moved to Las Vegas and moved there to be with them. Did she meet that person in Africa or in the US or somewhere else? Did she travel to another country after leaving Africa, but before returning to the US? Was there anyone else living in the apartment when she rented it?

Was the person who killed her also involved in a relationship with her or were they just an opportunistic killer who happened to pick her up while hitchhiking? If she followed someone to Las Vegas, but they weren't the person who killed her, one would think they would have reported her missing or contacted her family.

She was killed and dumped at night, according to witnesses. Her body was dumped in a rather busy area with lots of daytime tourist and other traffic. This makes me think the person who killed her wasn't experienced and hadn't planned for it, just dumped her out by the dam without thinking someone might see them.

There's a post mortem photo of her face, etc. She appears to have been healthy and well groomed at the time of her death.

The description of the vehicle indicates it was only a couple years old, had special extras, CB antenna, etc. so it seems possible the owner had enough income to spend on a new, tricked out vehicle.

 

[Betty P]

• They have a lot of evidence they've kept. I wonder if any of it can be tested for DNA? Clothing, etc.?
• I wonder if LE ever checked car rental records for the area?
• Could the car she was dumped from have been a rental? If not, it must have belonged to someone who lived in the area?
• Her apartment was located near the Strip. Does that mean she may have been seeing or visiting someone who worked on the strip?

I have a feeling she met and fell for someone who was shady or criminal, but put on a good front. She had to have some compelling reason to go to Las Vegas and rent an apartment after arriving back in the US. I assume she hadn't been back in the USA for a while, unless she came to visit occasionally. Also assume she left because her marriage wasn't working and she didn't want to live in Africa any longer. But why move back to the US only to go to Vegas and rent a cheap apartment? It doesn't seem like she intended to live in that apartment for long.

No drugs, no prostitution, no criminal activity

 

[Betty P]

First photo: Current day photo of area where embankment was. Second photo: Screen capture from video above of her rental application.

 

[dotr]

By Greg Lynch Aug 8, 2024 rbbm

The mysterious unsolved homicide of Marion Berry Fox Ouma, granddaughter of Dayton’s Yellow Pages pioneer

A decades-old cold case was back in the news this week when the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office in Kingman, Arizona requested the public’s assistance in gathering new information about the death of Marion Berry Fox Ouma.

www.daytondailynews.com

''Ouma left the Oakwood home where she lived with her parents in November 1978. She left a note saying she was leaving but not why, authorities said. It later was determined that she left to find work out west.''

''An Arizona detective said it appeared that she was shot in Las Vegas, and her body was taken to the dam.
When her body was found, she was wearing a green jogging suit and blue T-shirt, and she was not wearing shoes or socks. Investigators said it was not uncommon for her to jog in her bare feet.''

A few days before Ouma was fatally shot, she asked the Nevada State Bank in Las Vegas to order a $473 draft from her Dayton bank, according to investigators. She never collected the money she had requested.
Police did learn that prior to her disappearance, she purchased camping equipment and blue jeans.''

 

[Betty P]

By Greg Lynch Aug 8, 2024 rbbm

The mysterious unsolved homicide of Marion Berry Fox Ouma, granddaughter of Dayton’s Yellow Pages pioneer

A decades-old cold case was back in the news this week when the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office in Kingman, Arizona requested the public’s assistance in gathering new information about the death of Marion Berry Fox Ouma.

www.daytondailynews.com

View attachment 528086
''Ouma left the Oakwood home where she lived with her parents in November 1978. She left a note saying she was leaving but not why, authorities said. It later was determined that she left to find work out west.''

''An Arizona detective said it appeared that she was shot in Las Vegas, and her body was taken to the dam.
When her body was found, she was wearing a green jogging suit and blue T-shirt, and she was not wearing shoes or socks. Investigators said it was not uncommon for her to jog in her bare feet.''

A few days before Ouma was fatally shot, she asked the Nevada State Bank in Las Vegas to order a $473 draft from her Dayton bank, according to investigators. She never collected the money she had requested.
Police did learn that prior to her disappearance, she purchased camping equipment and blue jeans.''

Thanks for finding and posting this. I had checked Newspapers.com and didn't find anything.

So it seems she came home from Africa, lived with her parents, but decided to leave to find a job "out West". She left just 2 months before she was found dead, so it sounds like she went directly from Dayton, OH to Las Vegas.

She'd been living in Africa for a few years, so perhaps was accustomed to a more rugged, outdoors lifestyle. Running barefoot is an amazing thing to do. She was a good athlete. I suppose she'd grown accustomed to living simply, without "frills" or luxuries.

I wonder if she was upset or depressed? Had she met someone there who killed her or was it a random murder? I'll go out on a limb to say she was probably checking Las Vegas out to see if she wanted to stay there and look for a job. That might explain the small apartment and lack of a car.

 

[otto]

Regarding "family" being ruled out, I read that her husband was ruled out. Nothing was said about extended family.

Who got the money? Was it her mother who helped identify the body after two years?

$40 million is a big motive, especially since there was no sexual assault. Shot twice: first in the abdomen, blood on her hands from the wound, then shot in the head, and left near the Hoover Dam. Green sweat pants and a blue shirt, barefoot.

Does that suggest that she was taken from home, rather than running barefoot outside in December?

Was everyone in her building interviewed? Did she disappear before her rent was due, so she was evicted. Were her belongings thrown away?

 

[otto]

Did I read correctly that the grandfather had 7 grandchildren? Per the same question upthread: did they all receive an equal inheritance? How many ex-wives did he have, and what did they receive?

Did Marion have siblings from the same mother?

Her body was unidentified for longer than one would expect: 2 years. She was a tomboy socialite set to receive $40M one year after her death. Who knew she was in LV?

Was it advantageous for anyone to have her declared dead after she received the inheritance? Who assumed her estate?

Her body had to be identified to claim the inheritance. Who did that?