Murder of Reyna Marroquin

Photograph of Reyna Marroquin

The murder of Reyna Angelica Marroquin occurred in 1969 in Nassau County, New York. The crime was not discovered for at least 30 years after its occurrence. Howard Elkins, a local businessman, was identified as the prime suspect, though he committed suicide before he could be charged or thoroughly questioned.

The investigation was described on The New Detectives (Season 9, Episode 11, "Broken Trust"), Cold Case Files ("The Barrel"), and Forensic Files (season 5, episode 4, "A Voice from Beyond").

Background

In September 1999, a house in Nassau County, New York was purchased. Its new owner removed a 55-gallon drum that had been seemingly abandoned in the crawl space. He noticed a note from the sanitation department that said they could not pick it up due to its weight. The owner opened the drum, and discovered human remains.

Investigation

Investigators carefully examined the drum, carefully removing the unidentified body, which they determined was a Hispanic female in her 20s who was pregnant. In the drum were a lot of other objects besides the body that were useful in identifying the victim and a suspect. These included jewelry, green dye, and an address book. Additionally, the drum had some information pre-printed on it.

The victim was identified through the address book. The address book was heavily soaked during the length of time it spent in the drum, but after it was dried out and examined under special light, it became possible to read some information in it. The investigation was difficult because that information was as old as the address book itself. She was eventually identified as Reyna Angelica Marroquin, an immigrant from El Salvador, who had worked as a nanny and for a manufacturer of synthetic flowers.^[1]

The drum was identified as one used for transporting dye, the type used in synthetic flowers. The manufacturer of the drum was contacted, and by the numbers on it, it was found to have been shipped to the flower company. The company had two owners, one of who was Howard Elkins. Elkins was one of five people who had owned the house where the drum was found, thereby making him the prime suspect.

All but one of the phone numbers listed in the address book were no longer in operation. The one that was turned out to be a friend of the victim. She reported that the victim had been having an affair with her boss, Howard Elkins, and that Elkins had been considering marrying Marroquin before the relationship soured. The victim told her that she was afraid her boss would kill her after she called his home and reached his wife. Her friend came over, but by then, the victim was nowhere to be seen, and she never heard from her again.^[2]

The day after detectives interviewed Elkins and told him they would obtain a court order to take his DNA for comparison with that of the fetus, Elkins was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a neighbor's home in Boca Raton, Florida.^[3][4]

After his suicide, blood was drawn from Elkins, and DNA testing determined with a 99.93 percent certainty that the unborn baby carried by the victim was his child.^[4]

References