Murder of Reyna Marroquin

File:Reyna Marroquin.jpg

Photograph of Reyna Marroquín

The murder of Reyna Angélica Marroquín (born 1941) occurred in 1969 in Nassau County, New York. The crime was not discovered for at least 30 years after its occurrence. Howard B. Elkins (June 20, 1929 – September 10, 1999), 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 (episode "Broken Trust"), Cold Case Files ("The Barrel"), Forensic Files ("A Voice from Beyond"), and Murder Book ("Flower Drum Murder").

Background

In 1999, a house in Nassau County, New York was purchased by Hamid Tafaghodi. Tafaghodi insisted previous owner Ronald Cohen remove a 55-gallon drum that had been seemingly abandoned in the crawl space. On September 2, Cohen noticed a note from the sanitation department that said they could not pick it up due to its weight, so he and a real estate agent opened the drum to discover a human hand and a lady's shoe.

Investigation

Investigators thoroughly examined the drum, carefully removing mummified human remains, which they determined was that of a Hispanic female in her late-20s who was between 4'9"–5'0" tall, had unusual dental work, and was pregnant. The 17 inch fetus was concluded to be male. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, which included ten different lacerations—some with blood stains, an indication that she was still alive, but retired Detective Brian Parpan said she probably died instantly. In the drum were a lot of other objects besides the body that were useful in identifying the victim and a suspect. These included polystyrene pellets, three pieces of jewelry (two rings, one with the initials "M.H.R." inscribed on the inside; and a locket inscribed "To Patrice Love Uncle Phil"), 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 an infrared 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, but her alien card number was written on the first page of the book, which was how she was eventually identified as Reyna Angélica Marroquín, an immigrant from El Salvador, who had worked as a nanny and for a manufacturer of synthetic flowers.

Marroquín was said to have had a beautiful personality, with great love for her family and New York, and aspirations of becoming an American citizen. She left El Salvador in 1966 because she discovered her husband had a lover who was pregnant with his child.

The drum she was found in was identified as being manufactured in 1965 from Linden, New Jersey and 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 Melrose Plastics, a flower company that went out of business in 1972. Melrose had two owners, one of whom was Howard B. 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 Kathy Andrade, a friend of the victim. She reported that the victim had been having an affair with her boss, Howard B. Elkins, and that Elkins had been considering marrying Marroquín 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 Ruth, telling her about their affair. Andrade came over, but by then, the victim was nowhere to be seen, and she was never heard from again.

After the drum was found outside the residence, an anonymous call to investigators noted that the plastic pellets were the basis for making synthetic trees and also that Elkins was having an affair in the 1960s with a woman fitting Marroquín's description.

The day after Det. Robert Edwards and Det. Brian Parpan 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. Elkins had been somewhat uncooperative during the interview, remaining poised and indifferent, denying that Melrose Plastics had any such barrels and declining a DNA test. When Ruth called, he asked detectives to leave before she came home so he could discuss the finding of the body and "other sensitive issues" with her. Either shortly after detectives left or the following day, Elkins went out and purchased a shotgun and some ammunition at Walmart. His body was found by his son Steven and police.

After his suicide, blood was drawn from Elkins and sent to LabCorp, where DNA testing determined with a 99.93 percent certainty that the unborn baby carried by the victim was his child. Elkins was described by neighbors and acquaintances in Florida and on Long Island as outgoing, friendly, jovial and sociable.

Oscar Corral of Newsday found Marroquín's mother in San Martín, San Salvador where the 95-year-old woman nearly fainted when she was told of her daughter's death. She said that for the last 30 years she had dreams about her daughter's whereabouts, which included her being in a barrel. Marroquin's body was moved to El Salvador where she was laid to rest and her mother died only months later, who was laid to rest right next to her daughter.

There have also been reports of Marroquin and Elkins having a child before. Det. Edwards said the investigation revealed that a woman fitting Marroquin's description showed up to Melrose Plastics at one point with a toddler, causing quite a stir within the company from employees who bantered and joked that the child's father was Elkins.

Crime

Investigators believe Elkins either came to Marroquin's New Jersey apartment or lured her to the factory, and murdered her. He then brought her body back to his suburban home, likely with the intention of dumping her in the ocean later on, since Elkins was known to have owned a boat. However, when filling the barrel with plastic pellets to ensure it would sink to the bottom of the ocean, he underestimated the weight and was unable to move the 350 pound drum back outside, so he instead hid it in the crawl space.