Murder of Mary Quigley
| Mary Elizabeth Quigley | |
|---|---|
 Summer 1977 | |
| Born |
Mary Elizabeth Quigley February 28, 1960 Tucson, Arizona, United States |
| Died |
September 10, 1977 (aged 17) Santa Clara, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
Mary Elizabeth Quigley (February 28, 1960 – September 10, 1977) was an American murder victim whose death was a cold case for nearly 30 years before it was finally solved.[1]
Mary was a senior at Santa Clara High School in California . She had attended a beer party and left the party house late in the evening of Friday, September 9, 1977. Her body was found the next day about 300 yards away, hanging from a chain-link fence in Washington Park (now War Memorial Park) in Santa Clara. She had been raped and strangled.
The killer, Richard Archibeque, was identified by means of DNA profiling and DNA matching. DNA samples were used which Archibeque was required to submit because of his conviction for the 1979 rape of another teenage girl.
Discovery of the crime
On the night of Friday, September 9, 1977, Quigley, a student at Santa Clara High School, attended a back-to-school beer party at a house near the corner of Monroe and Market Streets in Santa Clara, California.
An acquaintance had given her a ride to the party on the back of his motorcycle and had promised to offer her a ride home. He left the party and did not return until after Quigley had left. Witnesses last saw Quigley leaving the party around 11:45 p.m. alone and on foot, and headed toward the house of a friend who lived nearby.
In the early daylight hours of September 10, a groundskeeper noticed, at a distance, an object up against a fence that separated some apartments from a Santa Clara High School athletic field. It wasn't until around noon of that same day that the groundskeeper investigated further and discovered that the "object" was the deceased body of Mary Quigley.
Quigley's body was nude. Debris on the body suggested that she had been dragged to the fence. She had been hung by the neck on the fence. An item of her clothing had been used to fasten her neck to the fence.
Aftermath
No immediate suspect was identified, and the murder became a cold case for nearly 30 years. Quigley's friends and classmates kept up the pressure on law enforcement throughout the years, keeping the case alive.
In 2005, Detective Sergeant Kazem resubmitted evidence from the Quigley homicide investigation to the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory for DNA analysis. On December 27, 2006, the Crime Lab informed Sergeant Kazem that a computer database search of DNA profiles of known offenders identified a Santa Clara resident, Richard Armand Archibeque (age 47, DOB 01/26/59, a classmate of Quigley's), as the suspect. Later that day, Archibeque was arrested by detectives.
Archibeque was convicted of first degree murder in San Jose, California, on March 2, 2009. He sentenced to 7 years to life in prison.[2]
The immediate crime scene remains pretty much unchanged to this day. A hole cut from the fence by the police where her sash was tied remained until recently. The entire fence panel has been removed and a small plaque has been placed there. Quigley's friends and classmates have lobbied the City of Santa Clara for a memorial bench and plaque to be placed in her honor at War Memorial Playground. They also want to rename the park Mary Quigley Memorial Playground.
Media coverage
Quigley's case was featured on the Investigation Discovery television show "Murder Book" on December 10, 2014.[3]
References
External links
- Santa Clara Police Department press release (I)
- Santa Clara Police Department press release (II)
- Mary Quigley tribute page
- Page relating Mary Quigley's story at the Wayback Machine (archived October 26, 2009)
- Mary Quigley at Find a Grave