Murder of Marcia King

On April 24, 1981, three young men discovered the body of a young Caucasian woman in a ditch alongside Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio. One of the three men, Greg Bridenbaugh, initially noticed the decedent's distinctive buckskin poncho. Informing one of his companions, Neal Hoffman, to take a look at the coat, Hoffman walked closer to the article of clothing before turning toward Bridenbaugh, stating: "Oh my God, there's a woman in that coat!" The young woman was lying in a fetal position, on her right side, and without shoes or socks. The men immediately reported their discovery to police. Autopsy The decedent's body was autopsied on the afternoon of her discovery. The medical examination revealed she had suffered extensive blunt force trauma to the head and neck before she had been strangled to death approximately 48 hours before her body was discovered. Additionally, her liver was found to have been lacerated. She had not been subjected to any form of sexual assault. The woman had been between and in height, aged between eighteen and twenty-six, and weighed . Her eyes were light brown in color, and she had freckles across her face. except for one porcelain crown upon her upper-right incisor. Clothing The young woman was dressed in blue bell-bottom Wrangler jeans, a brown turtleneck pullover sweater with an orange crisscross design on the front, a white brassiere She wore no shoes or socks. No form of identification was located upon her body or at the crime scene. == Initial investigation ==

Because the decedent's body was found approximately 48 hours after her death, Early police efforts to identify this decedent also involved the creation of a composite drawing of her face which was published in local newspapers and broadcast on television networks on April 28, 1981. This initial media publicity surrounding the murder generated approximately two hundred leads. Although all were investigated, all failed to bear fruit. The failure to establish her identity hindered investigators' efforts to solve her murder. As her identity remained undiscovered, investigating authorities came to increasingly believe the reason Buckskin Girl remained unidentified had been due to the fact that she had been murdered far from her hometown. Police and the media later speculated that she may have been a teenage runaway or a possible victim of a serial killer known to have murdered several prostitutes in the region during the 1980s and 1990s. although police and other officials continued to investigate her murder. Her clothing and other physical evidence recovered at the crime scene was retained, and a sample of her blood preserved. == Theories ==

Lifestyle Investigators theorized that Buckskin Girl had been a runaway teenager, a foster child, or a transient wanderer unlikely to have spent a significant period of time in Ohio prior to her death, although her high quality of personal hygiene strongly indicated that she had not lived as a vagrant. A 2016 isotope analysis of the decedent's hair and fingernails revealed Buckskin Girl had spent approximately four months in areas within the Southwestern and/or Southeastern United States, as opposed to Ohio, prior to her murder, although forensic palynology had revealed she had most likely originated from either the Northeastern United States or Canada, or had spent a significant amount of time in these regions in the year prior to her murder. of Buckskin Girl, depicting her distinctive braided hair Link to other murders Initially, investigators speculated regarding a potential connection between this decedent and the murder of a 27-year-old woman two months earlier, in February 1981, although police never officially linked these two murders. Some investigators also speculated that Buckskin Girl may have been the first of numerous young women murdered by a suspected unidentified serial killer who perpetrated his known murders between 1985 and 2004—many of which were of known or suspected sex workers. This serial killer was suspected to have murdered between seven and ten other young women. All the victims of this suspected serial killer had been murdered via bludgeoning or strangulation, and items of clothing or jewelry were missing from each crime scene. Jewelry and footwear were also missing from the crime scene of Buckskin Girl, and she had been murdered in a similar manner to these victims. However, several elements of evidence were found to contradict this theory. There was no indication Buckskin Girl had engaged in any form of sexual activity immediately prior to her death. In addition, unlike many of the victims of this serial killer, she was markedly well-groomed, with a history of dental care. In 1991, a newly established task force convened in London, Ohio. This task force was dedicated to the investigation of these unsolved homicides, which had occurred in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois and composed of investigators from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies. == Further forensic analysis ==

With advances in technology and the increasing use of DNA analysis in criminal investigations, investigators were able to extract the decedent's DNA from the blood sample preserved in 1981. This data was able to conclusively rule out any possibility of 226 missing teenage girls and young women as Buckskin Girl. These images were extensively distributed via online media, although initially, no significant leads developed. In addition, the pollen recovered from her external clothing suggested that, shortly before her murder, she had been in an arid climate such as the Western United States, or northern Mexico. == Identification ==

On April 9, 2018, the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory announced they had identified the decedent as 21-year-old Marcia Lenore King of Little Rock, Arkansas. This organization had been contacted by Dr Murray in 2017, and was able to successfully match a sample of King's DNA to a sample submitted for comparison by a first cousin. Her family declined to release a press statement, requesting that their confidentiality be respected. King had last been seen by her family in 1980. She had never officially been reported as a missing person, although her family had continued to search for her. It is believed King had frequently hitchhiked as a means of transportation, as investigators had long theorized prior to her identification. She is also known to have had ties with both Pittsburgh and Louisville, Kentucky. Addressing the media to announce the formal identification of Buckskin Girl, a spokesman for the Miami County Sheriff's Office informed all present: "Law enforcement never forgets. We've had a long journey to [be] where we are today." This spokesman also emphasized the investigation into King's homicide is ongoing, with the primary focus being upon King's movements in the last month of her life, when she was known to have been in both Pittsburgh and Louisville. Ongoing investigation In July 2018, the Miami County Sheriff's Office announced they had received further information regarding King's actual whereabouts shortly prior to her death. This information included eyewitness accounts placing her in Louisville, Kentucky, approximately 14 days before her death. Six eyewitnesses have also corroborated accounts of King also being in Arkansas shortly before her murder. It is believed the reason she had traveled to Ohio may have been due to her suspected involvement with the religious organization The Way. In February 2020, the Miami County Sheriff's Office announced they had been able to further reconstruct King's whereabouts, and relationships, in the two weeks prior to her murder, adding that as advances in technology now mean nuclear DNA samples can be retrieved from hair samples missing the actual root, they remained confident hair samples discovered at the crime scene and submitted to a renowned Californian paleogeneticist could yield a nuclear DNA profile of either her murderer, or an individual she had been in the company of very shortly before her death. Addressing these latest developments, Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchalk stated: "We always have hopes to bring justice for homicide victims and their families. We never have, nor will we ever forget, and will continually work the case and, as new technologies are developed, will review our evidence to learn if it is worth re-submitting." == Funeral ==

King had been buried as a Jane Doe at Riverside Cemetery in Miami County, Ohio weeks after her death, with several officers assigned to investigate her murder serving as pallbearers at her funeral. Marcia's stepmother and eight other surviving family members replaced the headstone simply reading "Jane Doe" with a headstone bearing her actual name at this service, which was attended by over fifty local residents. Describing King's personality, her stepmother described her as a "very trusting" young woman, before informing all present: "Words don't describe the feelings we have for all of you, how you have loved her and taken her in your arms." == See also ==

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