The murder of Reyna Angélica Marroquín
Jericho, Nassau County, New York · 1969
Overview
Reyna Angélica Marroquín, a 27-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, vanished from her New Jersey apartment in early 1969. She had been working at Melrose Plastics, a Manhattan artificial-flower company, and was pregnant by her married boss, according to a friend who spoke to CBS. On September 2, 1999, a man moving out of a house in Jericho, Long Island, pried open a steel drum from the crawl space and found a mummified, nine-months-pregnant woman who had died of a blow to the head. Detectives dried a decayed address book, read a name under a video spectral comparator, and identified her. A plastic flower stem in the drum and the drum's origin led to Melrose Plastics and to Howard Elkins, who in 1969 owned the factory and the Jericho house. Detectives questioned Elkins in Boca Raton, Florida. He said he could not recall the employee he admitted an affair with and refused a DNA swab, and about a day later he shot himself. Elkins was never charged. DNA from his autopsy was reported to show a 99.93 percent probability that he fathered the baby, and in March 2000 a detective said the case was closed. Marroquín's body was returned to El Salvador for burial.
How it was solved
No DNA identified the killer in this case. It was solved from physical objects found in the drum, followed by a trail of ownership. Nassau County detectives had a mummified body with no name. In her pocketbook was an address book, soaked and decayed. According to CBS, detectives dried it and put it under a video spectral comparator, and it was possible to just barely make out the name Marroquin. A number in the book, described as an immigrant visa number by the Daily News and as a Social Security number by Wikipedia, identified her as Reyna Marroquín, 27, of El Salvador. An address in the book still belonged to her best friend, who told detectives about the affair with Marroquín's married boss. The drum led them to the suspect. Detective Robert Edwards told CBS that a plastic flower stem inside it led him to a plastics company. Accounts differ on how the drum was traced. Wikipedia says markings showed it had been shipped to Melrose Plastics, while the Daily News says detectives followed it from a New Jersey plant that made dye containers to an artificial-flower company. Both end at Melrose Plastics, where Marroquín worked, and CBS reported that in 1969 Howard Elkins owned the factory and the Jericho house. Detectives interviewed Elkins in Boca Raton in September 1999. According to CBS, he denied knowing about the drum, admitted an affair with an employee but could not recall her name, and refused a mouth swab. About a day later he shot himself. His DNA, collected at his autopsy, was then compared with the fetus, and CBS reported a 99.93 percent probability of paternity. The DNA confirmed a relationship after the suspect had been found by other means. Elkins was never charged, and no court heard the case. In March 2000 Edwards told CBS that police had a motive and a suspect and that the case was closed.
Sources
- The Clue In The Drum (March 8, 2000)
“In 1969, Elkins had owned the plastics factory where Reyna Marroquin worked and the house where her body later was found.”
- Missing For 30 Years (March 7, 2000)
“It was possible to just barely make out the name Marroquin.”
- JUSTICE STORY: Mystery of the mummified woman found stuffed in a drum (October 26, 2020)
“found the door ajar, an unfinished meal on the table and no sign of her friend.”
- Murder of Reyna Marroquín
“Investigators believe Elkins either went to Marroquín's apartment or lured her to the factory, ultimately killing her.”
- The Tragic Story Of Reyna Marroquin's Murder (May 5, 2022)
“He refused to give a DNA sample, and detectives told him they would be back with a court order.”
- Reyna Marroquin Murder: How Did Howard Elkins Die?
“It disclosed a 99.93% likelihood that he was the father of the victim’s unborn child.”
- Reyna Angelica “Angel” Marroquin (1941-1969)
“Marroquin's body was returned to El Salvador and given a dignified funeral service.”
- Howard Burton Elkins (1929-1999)
“Death 10 Sep 1999 (aged 70) Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA”