NE NE - Mary Kay Heese, 17, Wahoo, 25 March 1969

[Teamir]

Another article about the arrest….

Bombshell update in 1969 cold case of murdered Nebraska teen

Mary Kay Heese, 17, (pictured) was last seen standing at a street corner on March 25, 1969, just five blocks away from her family home in Wahoo, Nebraska, about 70 miles from Omaha.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 21, 2024

EXCLUSIVE: Detective opens up out about Nebraska teen’s 1969 murder case

Stabbed at least a dozen times, the body of 17-year-old Mary Kay Heese was discovered along a country road in 1969.

www.wowt.com

Detective Green believes a party grove was the destination.

“And she’s just thinking, ‘It’s OK. A couple of guys I know from the restaurant, and we’re going out for a ride,‘” Green said.

Green reveals that Mary Kay likely got in the car with the suspect and another young man who was with them.

“He committed suicide in ’77, so if he wasn’t an active participant or just didn’t realize what was going to happened all of a sudden it just happened,” Green said.

 

[dotr]

Apr. 8, 2025

Judge delays hearing in 1969 Nebraska teen’s murder case

A family waiting for justice for 55 years -- will have to wait longer.

www.wowt.com

'WAHOO, Neb. (WOWT) - A family waiting for justice for 55 years -- will have to wait longer.

On Monday, a Saunders County District Court judge delayed the next steps in the case of 77-year-old Joseph Ambroz.'
'His hearing is now scheduled for mid-June in connection to the stabbing death of Mary Kay Hesse along a country road near Wahoo.'

 

[dotr]

Jul. 28, 2025

Victim’s family reacts to potential plea deal in 1969 Nebraska teen’s murder case

The victim’s closest living relative says a plea deal has caused family unrest with the legal system.

www.wowt.com

'WAHOO, Neb. (WOWT) - A potential plea agreement in a cold case murder in Nebraska has been confirmed by authorities.

Saturday night, First Alert 6 Investigates first reported that 77-year-old Joseph Ambroz will likely face a lesser charge in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Mary Kay Hesse. Ambroz has been in custody since last November for first-degree murder.'

“There were some tough decisions to be made about this case... I’m truly sorry they [the family] are not happy.”
County Attorney Jennifer Joakim''

 

[dotr]

Jul 31, 2025
Relatives of Mary Kay Heese speaks after Joseph Ambroz pleads no contest to conspiracy
July 31, 2025, rbbm.

Judge approves plea deal for man indicted in 1969 cold-case murder

A judge accepted a no contest plea on Thursday from Joseph Ambroz, who was indicted for the murder of a teenager in 1969 in Wahoo. The charge carries a maximum two year sentence. Ambroz’s sentencing hearing will take place on Aug. 27 in Saunders County.

nebraskapublicmedia.org

''A Saunders County judge approved a man’s no contest plea on Thursday for a lesser charge in a reopened cold-case murder.

At the Thursday hearing, Joseph Ambroz, 79, pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Ambroz’s sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 27. In the meantime, he will remain in jail without bond.''

 

[dotr]

Sep 5 2025 rbbm.

Saunders County cold case: Why was court required to use ‘Good Time’ law?

A week later, and a controversial court decision out of Sanders County is still boiling for the family of Mary Kay Heese.

www.wowt.com

''Joseph Ambroz, arrested as a murder suspect last November, received a maximum of two years Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, after pleading "no contest" to a lesser charge relating to the murder of 17-year-old Mary Kay Heese in 1969.(Zoren Tesic / WOWT)
Ambroz has been hiding and running from the murder conspiracy for 55 years. Prosecutors said that witnesses’ memories faded in that time, and some died. Also, the DNA wasn’t conclusive.''

''It’s sooner than that -- Nebraska corrections says November 15th. That means he’ll spend less than a year in jail for conspiracy to commit murder.

So why did the Nebraska system shaved a year off his sentence?''

''Mary Kay’s family tells First Alert 6 its like they have been victimized again. They even wonder if they could use the courts themselves to try to sue and keep Ambroz in jail.''

 

[dotr]

Lengthy, with photos.

Could the puzzling case of slain Nebraska teen Mary Kay Heese be solved after 50 years?

The unsolved murder of Mary Kay Heese, 17, a high school junior from Wahoo, Nebraska, has hung over the community for five decades. Will what is believed to be the state's oldest cold case finally be solved?

www.cbsnews.com

Feb. 15, 2026

Mary Kay Heese was last seen at the corner of 12th and Linden streets on the afternoon of March 25, 1969.Nebraska State Historical Society
That evening, Mary Kay's parents reported her missing, and the community came out in force to search for her.

Ted Green: So they had Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, church groups, school groups … and the Wahoo Police Department, Sheriff's office … all searching for her.

Nothing was found until close to midnight, when a farmer spotted Mary Kay's school books and purse stacked neatly on a road near a field.

Jennifer Joakim: Inside the books … was her name and so he brought the books into Wahoo and ran into … the police that were searching for her. … They all went back to where the books were found … and they found her body, lying in a ditch … on the side of the road.

Not far from Mary Kay's bloodied body, investigators discovered her shoes in the road, tire tracks from a car, and shoeprints — potentially from the killer.

Natalie Morales: And how had she died?

Richard Register: Well, in a horrible way, she was chased down. The — the footprints, which were preserved by the ground freezing, showed that she got out of the vehicle and she ran … And you could tell by the strides that she was really trying to escape. … And then near where her body is found … there's a pool of blood … she's laying there discarded like trash.

Investigators photographed the scene, measured and made a cast of that shoeprint, and sent Mary Kay's body for an autopsy. It was determined that Mary Kay had been beaten and was stabbed to death, leaving 14 wounds. No knife was found at the scene.''