The murder of Marlene Oakes (Marlene Major)
Verona, Boone County, Kentucky · 1980
Overview
Marlene Major, 25, of Verona in Boone County, Kentucky, disappeared on October 11, 1980. That day she had told her sister that she planned to divorce her husband, William Major, and that she had proof against him hidden away. Her diaries, which she had given to a friend, recorded that she had seen him sexually abusing their son. Major told people she had left, sold his property, and moved the children to Rhode Island. A skull found on a nearby farm in November 1981 could not be identified. Major was later imprisoned in Rhode Island for about ten years for abusing his children. In 1996, held in Boone County on a Kentucky detainer, he telephoned his father and said he had killed Marlene. Detectives learned of the call in early 2001 and had the father tape a second call. A 2001 mitochondrial DNA test showed the skull belonged to a maternal relative of her daughter. Major was charged in July 2001, arrested in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and told Kentucky detectives that he shot her during an argument in her car. A jury convicted him of murder and tampering with physical evidence in August 2003. The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed in 2005. After a second trial he was convicted again, and the verdict was affirmed in 2009. He died in October 2017.
How it was solved
The case was solved by a father, not by a laboratory. In 1996, held in the Boone County jail on a detainer after about ten years in a Rhode Island prison, William Major telephoned his father and told him he had killed his wife. The Kentucky Supreme Court says detectives only learned of that call in early 2001. They travelled to Nova Scotia, where James Major agreed to help. He suggested a cover story, that he had only a short time to live, and placed a second call to his son while detectives taped it. On the tape William Major was evasive: "Even if I could, I probably wouldn't." When his father said, "You told me you killed her," he replied that he had been in jail and upset at the time. Mitochondrial DNA testing in 2001 showed the skull found on a Boone County farm in 1981 belonged to a maternal relative of Marlene's daughter. That identified the victim, but it did not identify her killer. Major was charged around July 2001 and arrested in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. In custody he made incriminating statements and then told Kentucky detectives he had shot his wife in her car after an argument, and drew them a map. The jury also heard about Marlene's diaries, her sister's account of her last day, and testimony that Major had threatened to shoot her. A Boone County jury convicted him in August 2003. In 2005 the Kentucky Supreme Court reversed because of evidence of uncharged acts and unconnected firearms, but upheld the use of the recorded call. A second jury convicted him again, and the court affirmed in January 2009. Her body, her car and the gun were never found.
Sources
- Major v. Commonwealth, No. 2003-SC-673-MR, 177 S.W.3d 700 (September 22, 2005)
“Later in early 2001, the detectives became aware of this 1996 phone conversation the Appellant had with his father, wherein, he apparently confessed to Mr. Major that he had killed Marlene.”
- Major v. Commonwealth, No. 2007-SC-000734-MR, 275 S.W.3d 706 (January 22, 2009)
“Upon retrial, a Boone County jury found Appellant guilty of one count of murder and guilty of one count of tampering with physical evidence and recommended life imprisonment for the murder and five years for tampering with physical evidence.”
- Major Verdict (August 5, 2003)
“The jury recommended he spend his life plus 5 years in prison.”
- Major Convicted Of 1980 Murder (August 5, 2003)
“Major was arrested in July 2001 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts and returned to Kentucky to be tried.”
- Major To Be Sentenced Today (August 11, 2003)
“After a week-long trial, the jury convicted Major of murder and tampering with physical evidence and recommended a life sentence plus five years.”
- Murder of Marlene Oakes
“Major's father told authorities that he had confessed to him about the murder while in prison, which disgusted him.”
- Helen Marlene Oakes (1954-1980), Find a Grave Memorial 169097181
“Marlene's date of death is either October 10th, 1980 or October 11, 1980, depending on different sources.”
- William Alexander “Bill” Major (1944-2017), Find a Grave Memorial 212458132
“Death 15 Oct 2017 (aged 73) La Grange, Oldham County, Kentucky, USA”