MO MO - Marie Beulah Mueller, 43, Frontenac, 5 Mar 1972

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]3733DFMO - Marie Beulah Mueller[/h]

September 1971

WI Driver's License 1958

Name: Marie Beulah Mueller
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 05, 1972
Location Last Seen: Frontenac, St. Louis County, Missouri

[h=2]Physical Description[/h] Date of Birth: circa 1929
Age: 43 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 100-110 lbs.
Hair Color: Red/Auburn
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: "Sam"
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Appendectomy scar; Scar on extreme lower abdomen; Scars on chest from mastectomy; Fingernails curved over fingers (i.e. like "claws" or a beak).
[h=2]Identifiers[/h] Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
[h=2]Clothing & Personal Items[/h] Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
[h=2]Circumstances of Disappearance[/h] Marie did not take her vehicle when she left.
[h=2]Investigating Agency(s)[/h] Agency Name: Frontenac Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Mike Barron
Agency Phone Number: 314-373-6535
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 29-3-30-72
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 33954
[h=2]Information Source(s)[/h] NamUs

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3733dfmo.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/33954/

 

[madamx]

MISSING
Missing Person / NamUs #MP33954Marie Beulah Mueller, Female, White / Caucasian



Case Information



Demographics
Missing Age43 Years
Current Age89 Years
First NameMarie
Middle NameBeulah
Last NameMueller
Nickname/Alias"Sam"

SexFemale
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian
Height5' 4" - 5' 6" (64 - 66 Inches)
Weight100 - 110 lbs

 

[madamx]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187421182/marie-beulah-mueller

Marie Beulah SmithMueller
BIRTH 26 Dec 1928
Neillsville, Clark County, Wisconsin, USA
DEATH 5 Mar 1972 (aged 43)
Frontenac, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
BURIAL Burial Details Unknown, Specifically: Missing Person since March 1972. Presumed dead. Declared deceased for estate purposes 1982-1983.

 

[madamx]

 

[madamx]

 

[madamx]

this woman just seemed so interesting..i wonder what her story was and what happened.. I have not really been able to find much of anything on her.

 

[madamx]

Marie Beulah Mueller – The Charley Project

Details of Disappearance
Mueller was last seen in Frontenac, Missouri on March 5, 1972. She has never been heard from again.
She was in the process of a divorce at the time of her disappearance, and her family believes she met with foul play.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187421182/marie-beulah-mueller

Marie Beulah SmithMueller
BIRTH 26 Dec 1928
Neillsville, Clark County, Wisconsin, USA
DEATH 5 Mar 1972 (aged 43)
Frontenac, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
BURIAL Burial Details Unknown, Specifically: Missing Person since March 1972. Presumed dead. Declared deceased for estate purposes 1982-1983.

She was declared legally dead in 1982 or 1983, and her husband is also deceased. Her case remains unsolved.


there is a bit more information on there now. I found this


Marie went missing while going through a messy divorce with her ex-husband Dr. Donn W. Mueller, D.O. over 40 years ago. She is presumed deceased, and her remains were never found. Her FAMILY continues to search for her to this day.

 

[Betty P]

Frontenac is a very wealthy suburb. Home of many corporate CEO's and big financiers. It has a police department that is very discreet.

March 5 was a Sunday, with cool, cloudy weather, high in the low 40's.

Dr. Donn Mueller and his wife, Marie Beulah, lived at 2 Country Estates Pl, Frontenac, according to Ancestry.com

Join Ancestry

It's a very nice home -

Who Lives at 2 Country Estates Pl, Saint Louis, MO 63131 | Spokeo

Scan to the right in this street view to see the home and part of the back yard

Google Maps

Overhead view

Google Maps

I didn't find any mention of her in the StLouis Post Dispatch during that month. Also not finding any unidentifed deceased persons in MO or IL in a ten year time frame after that.

Since the report said she went missing Sunday, if her husband was involved, her death could have occurred any time that weekend, possibly.

There are many rivers in the area, most notably the Missouri and the Mississippi

How sad for her family that they've had no answers all these years.

All JMO

 

[madamx]

Frontenac is a very wealthy suburb. Home of many corporate CEO's and big financiers. It has a police department that is very discreet.

March 5 was a Sunday, with cool, cloudy weather, high in the low 40's.

Dr. Donn Mueller and his wife, Marie Beulah, lived at 2 Country Estates Pl, Frontenac, according to Ancestry.com

Join Ancestry

It's a very nice home -

Who Lives at 2 Country Estates Pl, Saint Louis, MO 63131 | Spokeo

Scan to the right in this street view to see the home and part of the back yard

Google Maps

Overhead view

Google Maps

I didn't find any mention of her in the StLouis Post Dispatch during that month. Also not finding any unidentifed deceased persons in MO or IL in a ten year time frame after that.

Since the report said she went missing Sunday, if her husband was involved, her death could have occurred any time that weekend, possibly.

There are many rivers in the area, most notably the Missouri and the Mississippi

How sad for her family that they've had no answers all these years.

All JMO

Wow thank you for all the info Betty. Now actually looking at the photo of the house it makes me wonder if she never left the house or the property. I wonder how extensive was the search of her on the property or in the house? Did the husband live there until he died ?

 

[Betty P]

Wow thank you for all the info Betty. Now actually looking at the photo of the house it makes me wonder if she never left the house or the property. I wonder how extensive was the search of her on the property or in the house? Did the husband live there until he died ?

The property may not have been searched at all. The doctor was probably considered an upstanding citizen and above suspicion. They probably assumed she left voluntarily. Frontenac police are known to not look too closely into the private lives of their residents IYKWIM. From Ancestry.com records, it appears Mueller eventually sold the home and moved to Scottsdale, AZ where he passed away. He's buried there.


An alternate theory could be that someone was hired to take care of the problem, if that's what happened. It's also possible that Marie left on her own, but that seems very unlikely. It's noteworthy that no body ever turned up. If someone killed her, they hid her well. I wonder if Dr. Mueller owned any property outside the city or had a favorite place they liked to visit?

There was a similar case in 1971 in the same area, of Sally Lucas, the wife of a wealthy businessman who was kidnapped from West County Mall. Her killer was tracked down and arrested in Florida, IIRC but prosecutor suspected husband paid him to kill her. The prosecutor tried for years to pin it on the husband. Eventually he was sent to "mental hospital" after conviction of a lesser charge, but was allowed to leave and live in his own home with his new girlfriend.

7 Sep 1971, Page 1 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com

State v. Damico



Came across Sally's case while doing family history search and was fascinated, thinking husband was involved. There you are, out shopping for a new tennis outfit at the Mall and someone hijacks you in your new convertible and kills you. Thought it would make a good podcast episode. So when I saw this entry here at WS, it made me think of Sally Lucas.

ETA: In Sally Lucas murder case, her husband had been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl who was a friend of one of his children, IIRC. Wondered if Sally had found out about it.

 

[Gardener1850]

Marie's older photos remind me of Annandale Jane Doe:
VA - VA - Annandale, WhtFem 245UFVA, ~60, 'NO CODE, DNR, No Penicillin', Dec'96
But that would mean she ran away, changed/hid her identity and had plenty of money to live comfortably for 20+ years (Annandale's clothes came from Saks Fifth Ave, possibly indicating she was wealthy). I don't suppose that is likely. Plus, Annandale didn't have mastectomy scars. So probably not her.

 

[Betty P]

Marie's older photos remind me of Annandale Jane Doe:
VA - VA - Annandale, WhtFem 245UFVA, ~60, 'NO CODE, DNR, No Penicillin', Dec'96
But that would mean she ran away, changed/hid her identity and had plenty of money to live comfortably for 20+ years (Annandale's clothes came from Saks Fifth Ave, possibly indicating she was wealthy). I don't suppose that is likely. Plus, Annandale didn't have mastectomy scars. So probably not her.

Yes, the mastectomy scars would have been pretty obvious. Back then, surgeons performed what was called a Halsted radical mastectomy, which involved removing the entire breast, axillary lymph nodes and sometimes chest muscles and some of the ribs. It may have also been a modified radical, which still would have had big scars. Those practices didn't change until the 80's. She likely would have also had scarring from radiation therapy.

Reconstructive surgery with implants were not too common back then, so she probably was missing her breast (s).

 

[branmuffin]

What about this UID found in Kentucky in 1973.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Victim wore prosthetic inserts in her bra.

 

[madamx]

What about this UID found in Kentucky in 1973.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Victim wore prosthetic inserts in her bra.

oh wow bran muffin..that is a good find!!

 

[madamx]

What about this UID found in Kentucky in 1973.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Victim wore prosthetic inserts in her bra.

The time frame would fit and the distance from St Louis County MO is Not that Crazy Far to Barren County Kentucky if your looking to dump a body out of the state you killed it in..

 

[branmuffin]

The time frame would fit and the distance from St Louis County MO is Not that Crazy Far to Barren County Kentucky if your looking to dump a body out of the state you killed it in..

That's what I was thinking. I was tracing the highways that would travel eastbound and it's definitely doable. Did you read on Find a Grave that the husband didn't report her missing for ages? Her weight is a little high but I'm trying to determine how they'd come to 140 lbs for skeletal remains. If the size tag was still in the dress, they'd have to factor in how dress sizes have changed over the years. A size 14 then would be a size 8 or 10 now.

 

[Betty P]

The time frame would fit and the distance from St Louis County MO is Not that Crazy Far to Barren County Kentucky if your looking to dump a body out of the state you killed it in..

Yes, good find bran muffin! Not sure exactly where the body was found in Barren County, but if it was on an interstate highway, it could be a route usually travelled by people from St. Louis vacationing in southern FL. The area is also near some other vacation spots. If it is Beulah, someone could have dumped her there on the way to a vacation spot - also a handy alibi.

I'm trying to remember if there was any mention of where her husband was that weekend or the week following.

Since Marie Buelah (not sure what to call her) was only age 43, I'm assuming some of her children were still minors at the time and living at home, right? Do they remember about what time she went missing? Which day? Any idea what she was wearing. That information would be helpful.

Does anyone want to contact NAMUS with the tip? JMO, it seems worth looking into.

ETA: More questions: Who was living at the home at the time she went missing? Was the soon to be ex husband still living there? Were any of the minor children still living there?

 

[branmuffin]

Yes, good find bran muffin! Not sure exactly where the body was found in Barren County, but if it was on an interstate highway, it could be a route usually travelled by people from St. Louis vacationing in southern FL. The area is also near some other vacation spots. If it is Beulah, someone could have dumped her there on the way to a vacation spot - also a handy alibi.

I'm trying to remember if there was any mention of where her husband was that weekend or the week following.

Since Marie Buelah (not sure what to call her) was only age 43, I'm assuming some of her children were still minors at the time and living at home, right? Do they remember about what time she went missing? Which day? Any idea what she was wearing. That information would be helpful.

Does anyone want to contact NAMUS with the tip? JMO, it seems worth looking into.

ETA: More questions: Who was living at the home at the time she went missing? Was the soon to be ex husband still living there? Were any of the minor children still living there?

It doesn't appear that Marie had any children, at least not from information I've gleaned from Find A Grave. There are a few siblings listed, all whom are deceased. One of her brother's obituary said he had 13 siblings. The siblings (living and deceased as of 1996) are listed in a brother's obituary, Oakley Smith.

I believe her husband lived in the home for several years after she disappeared but don't quote me on that.

I'd really like to know what kind of vehicle she drove; evidently she 'left' it behind.

I presume the image of her with long blond hair is the closest to her appearance when she went missing, although her hair colour is listed as auburn in her missing profile. She looks quite different in her earlier pics with short hair. Surviving a mastectomy and radiation would do that do you while you're going through a messy divorce.

 

[Betty P]

It doesn't appear that Marie had any children, at least not from information I've gleaned from Find A Grave. There are a few siblings listed, all whom are deceased. One of her brother's obituary said he had 13 siblings. The siblings (living and deceased as of 1996) are listed in a brother's obituary, Oakley Smith.

I believe her husband lived in the home for several years after she disappeared but don't quote me on that.

I'd really like to know what kind of vehicle she drove; evidently she 'left' it behind.

I presume the image of her with long blond hair is the closest to her appearance when she went missing, although her hair colour is listed as auburn in her missing profile. She looks quite different in her earlier pics with short hair. Surviving a mastectomy and radiation would do that do you while you're going through a messy divorce.

OK, I thought I found an obit for her husband's mother that mentioned minor children. Could be they belonged to someone else. It would make more sense, then, if there were no children, hence no other witnesses at the home. I'm probably confusing it with a similar case where there were some older teen children at the time who are now trying to find out what happened to a missing parent.

Anyway, I'm thinking she looks differently in the more recent photo because of breast cancer and the treatment side effects. Age 43 is fairly young to get bc and is usually more aggressive. The blond hair may be a very good wig. The weight loss could also be an indicator. I'm a survivor and counseled many women over the years. It's not unusual for a husband/partner to reject his wife after a breast cancer diagnosis. It happens, marriages do break up and husbands or partners sometimes feel guilt and anger over wanting to leave the bc survivor. Some people just can't handle having a spouse with a serious illness. I have known of at least 2 cases over my 15 yrs doing this where husbands resorted to domestic violence. Yeah, really bad. Poor woman.

Someone might want to contact NAMUS to provide them with this suggestion. The car keys found with the body seem odd. What would that be about? Did a killer throw out the victim's handbag with her, but someone stole it, leaving keys? IDK.

 

[madamx]

Oh this poor woman.. I was actually thinking that the elaborate blonde hair could of been a wig. Reminded me of the Dolly Parton wigs. Bran muffin I would def submit that jane doe.

Maybe the car keys were in her pocket? Maybe she was going out of her house to get her car and was abducted and killed which is why car keys were found with her?
Or maybe the keys were dropped by the killer?
In the Namus profile it specifically says .Marie did Not take her vehicle with her. Which makes me think more that she was walking outside to get her car and was abducted by either her own husband or someone he paid to get rid of her.

I did not know that he took years to report her missing. I wonder what he told friends and neighbors and family at the time?