MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. (Scripps News Tucson/Court TV) —Authorities are asking for help solving a decades-old Arizona cold case.
The body of Marion Berry Ouma was found off a highway in Mohave County on Jan. 3, 1979.
FILE – Marion Berry Ouma (Mohave County Sheriff’s Office)
The 25-year-old had been shot multiple times and was originally known as “New Year’s Nancy.” It would be years until investigators learned Ouma’s identity.
“Until a private investigator from Ohio, where the family’s from, put two and two together,” said Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Lori Miller.
Information led Mohave County detectives from Ohio to Las Vegas, where they learned Ouma had been renting an apartment at the Sierra Vista Apartments. She even withdrew money at a bank in Las Vegas, not far from those apartments, weeks before she was found dead in Arizona.
“She left her bank book there, and it was mailed back to the mother,” said Miller. “And that’s where the private investigator started his investigation.”
But another twist in the case emerged after Ouma was identified. Her grandfather, Loren Berry, was the founder of “Yellow Pages” and passed away just after his granddaughter in 1980. After his death, Ouma would have been set to inherit $40 million.
Scripps News Tucson asked Miller if Ouma’s family ties or money could have played a role in the case, but she doesn’t believe it was a motive.
“If you looked at her, you certainly wouldn’t know,” said Miller. “I mean, she had sweatpants on and a shirt. I mean, she didn’t conduct herself as an heiress.”
Miller said there hasn’t been any evidence of a ransom note or any way someone else could have tried to benefit monetarily.
Miller said that before Ouma moved to Las Vegas, she got married while working with a program in Africa. According to her family, the marriage ended, and detectives confirmed her former husband stayed behind.
One major clue was called in about 24 hours after Ouma was found. A driver told law enforcement he and his wife were on that same highway early in the morning of January 3, when he noticed a specific car backed up to the guardrail.
“A powder blue 76 to 77 Chevy Blazer or Ford Bronco, with a hard top, and then with the chrome push bars, the oversized tires, the large antenna,” described Miller.
The same driver also reported there was a rag over the front plate and no one standing by the car. But decades later, Miller needs new leads.
“Anything at this point that anybody could provide would be valuable,” said Miller.
Forty five years later, Miller hasn’t given up help that someone will come forward with the information that will help solve this mystery.
“She deserves my time and my efforts to go out there and try to find somebody that might know something. That’s why I’m here,” said Miller.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Tucson, an E.W. Scripps Company.
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