McGruff - The Crime Dog! Wrote:
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> Cold Case: Springfield 'Marion Murders' Go
> Unsolved
> Neighbors recount 2006 experience, and many still
> feel uneasy
> By James Cullum
> April 6, 2012
>
http://lorton.patch.com/articles/still-no-leads-in
> -springfield-marion-murders
>
> Marion Newman and Marion Marshall had a lot in
> common, especially in the way they were murdered.
>
> It's been almost six years since they were beaten
> to death in their homes—two single Springfield
> women in their 70s who didn't know each other, but
> had the same first name, no children, looked alike
> and lived in nearly identical red brick ramblers
> within three miles of each other. The victims were
> killed three months apart, and in both cases,
> there was no sign of a break-in.
>
> Fairfax County Police have released no information
> on a suspect and have little to go on.
>
> "The investigations into the murders of Marion
> Marshall and Marion Newman are open and continue
> to be investigated," said police spokesperson
> Shelley Broderick in an email to Patch.
> "Currently, detectives believe these two homicides
> were committed by the same suspect. This is a
> result of similarities in the two cases and
> evidence obtained in both investigations."
>
> County police were mum on clues at the crime
> scenes, and the importance of a key piece of
> evidence has come into question. Shortly after
> Newman's murder, the Franconia District Police
> Station held a press conference and reported that
> Newman's custom-made diamond ring was missing and
> that the suspect may have ties to the Crestwood
> and Edsall Park communities.
>
> "The ring has not been located," Broderick said.
> "However, we are not certain the ring was taken by
> the suspect. The ring has just not been found
> yet."
>
> The County is offering a $1,000 reward for any
> information that leads to an arrest of a suspect
> in each murder. There are currently 82 Fairfax
> County cold cases going back to 1961, and most
> have the same reward.
>
> Monday, Aug. 14, 2006
>
> Marion Marshall, 72, was last seen alive at around
> 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2006, at the Giant Food
> store at the Bradlick Shopping Center in
> Annandale, according to a surveillance video
> obtained by police. Her body was discovered by
> neighbors at her home in the 6600 block of
> Bostwick Drive. Investigators determined that she
> was killed by trauma to the upper body and that
> there was no forced entry.
>
> Neighbor Harold Johnson found Marshall's body.
> "Marion had an appointment with a friend of hers
> that morning in D.C. and she didn't show up," he
> said. "The friend showed up here in a taxicab that
> late afternoon and she knocked on my door.
> Marion's car was out there, and her friend was
> nervous about going over by herself, so a neighbor
> and I walked over with her. She had a key, so we
> walked in and there she was lying on the living
> room floor."
>
> Marshall was on her back, Johnson said. "She had
> facial bruising and bruising on her arms," he
> said. "She had a heart condition, so at first I
> thought she'd had a heart attack and got bruised
> when she fell… Some of her groceries were still
> on the kitchen table when we walked in the house.
> It was like she got home and put the groceries
> down and there was a knock at the door. It was
> like he was waiting for her."
>
> Johnson now carries a concealed firearm. "It
> really affected everybody, but especially my
> mother, who was a friend of hers. I'd gone out
> that day about the time it happened and my mother
> was home alone. It could have been her," he said.
> "I really want to see the cops catch this guy, but
> I feel like the only way it's going to happen is
> if he commits another crime and they match his
> DNA."
>
> The murder shocked neighbor Barbara Hughes.
> "Everybody's scared now," she said. "My husband
> gets mad at me if I leave the front door
> unlocked."
>
> Jose Bracdos and his family moved into the
> Marshall home in 2008 after it sold for $368,500.
> "It's safe, it's quiet," he said. "Last year, my
> truck was broken into and all my tools were
> stolen, but that's all that's happened."
>
> Rose Henderson, 21, lives with her family next
> door to Marshall's house. "We were terrified and
> we stayed in the house. I was definitely not
> allowed out at night for a while," she said. "It
> used to be a nice neighborhood."
>
> Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006
>
> Marion Newman, 74, was last seen alive in the
> early evening on Nov. 20, 2006, visiting her
> 92-year-old mother at the Greenspring Retirement
> Community in Springfield. She was found the
> following afternoon in the bedroom of her home in
> the 7100 block of Reservoir Road by one of her
> mother's friends. There was no forced entry and
> the cause of death was determined to be trauma to
> the upper body.
>
> Newman, who volunteered at her church and at local
> animal shelters, had a strict routine, according
> to friend and next-door neighbor Reba Fogle. "She
> called her mother every morning, visited and ate
> dinner with her from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and
> then returned home," she said. "That morning, I
> got a call from Marion's mother. She called me at
> about 1:00 in the afternoon and she said, 'Have
> you seen Sweety?' - that was her nickname for her.
> I said no, and I told her that her (Newman's) car
> was in the driveway. And she said, 'Well, tell her
> to call me because I'm worried about her.'"
>
> Newman's mother asked a male neighbor at
> Greenspring to check on her daughter. "When he got
> there, the door was cracked open and the keys were
> in it, on the inside," Fogle said. "She was beaten
> and choked. The police asked me a bunch of
> questions because they didn't know anything. They
> had me go over to see if anything was stolen... I
> knew she was choked because they asked if she'd
> had throat surgery recently and I said no."
>
> Newman's mother died of natural causes a few
> months after the murder.
>
> Newman was married a number of times. "Marion's
> missing ring, the one that was stolen, was made
> from her engagement rings and it had three
> diamonds from three of her husbands," said Fogle,
> adding that she spoke with Newman daily over the
> course of 30 years. "We had a lot of fun. We also
> went through a lot of hard times too—everyday
> things."
>
> The Newman house sold for $386,000 in 2007. "A
> real nice family lives there now," said Fogle, who
> remains unnerved. "Before she passed away, you
> could go to bed with the door open... I don't
> trust people after dark, so I don't go out to the
> car at night."
>
> Not Knowing What to Look For
>
> The murders resulted in an increased neighborhood
> watch campaign across Springfield. "But there was
> a feeling of helplessness," said Tawny Hammond,
> then-president of the Springfield Civic
> Association, of which Newman was a member. "We
> couldn't even help the police because we didn't
> know what to look for. There was no description of
> a car or the time of day the incident occurred or
> what the suspect looked like… I respect the
> professional protocols of the police, but we need
> more information from them on this case. The more
> time goes by, the colder it gets."
>
> Bruce Waggoner is the current Springfield Civic
> Association president. "This is a terrible tragedy
> and we don't want to forget these ladies," he
> said. "We're keeping them in our hearts and minds
> and are praying that the police solve this case."
>
> Anyone with information on the murders of Marion
> Newman or Marion Marshall is asked to call Crime
> Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or the police
> non-emergency number at 703-691-2131.
This is another curious case.