MURDER IN THE MOHAVE: WHO KILLED MARINA RAMOS?

An Unsolved Murder Becomes the Search for Two Missing Little Girls

Tourists Make Horrific Discovery

In December 1989, four women vacationing in Las Vegas decide to take a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Along the way, they make a spur of the moment decision to check out a ghost town they see on the map. Their destination takes them down Highway 93 into Mohave County, and after a turn onto White Hills Road, a desolate stretch with no traffic, they see nothing but miles of desert sand, scrub oak and an occasional yucca tree. Along the way, they spot what appears to be a dead animal off to the side of the road on an intersecting dirt trail. They make note of it and continue on. But after travelling for miles, they see no sign of any ghost town, so they turn around and retrace their route back to the highway. This time, as they approach the ‘dead animal’, they decide to pull over and take a look. To their surprise, it is actually a dead person. The shocked women drive 36 miles to a phone in Kingman, Arizona.

A Mohave County Sheriff’s deputy responds to the scene, quickly assessing the situation and confirming it is a homicide. The deputy summons detectives to the scene.

The Scene

The dirt track where the body is found is called Old Temple Bar Road which intersects with White Hills Road.

The location is about 3 miles east of Highway 93. Today there is a truck stop and service station at that highway exit. But back in 1989, it was uninhabited and mostly undeveloped. The female victim is found naked, lying in a pool of her own blood, an indication that she was killed at that exact spot. According to Investigator Lori Miller who has the case today, the original detectives determined that the suspect(s) first tried running over the victim’s head with their car, which caused severe facial injuries, but not her death. Then, it appeared that her throat was slashed repeatedly with some type of knife. Miller said that no weapon was found at the scene, but they did recover a piece of black yarn and a blue bra strap which could be connected to the murder. 

Miller said that, at autopsy, it was determined that the victim had recently delivered a baby, and that she was likely assaulted around her hips and abdominal area prior to her death. Interestingly, two of the detectives who were on scene in 1989 were expert trackers, and they provided a detailed analysis of footprints and tire impressions in the sand. Inv. Miller said those detectives reported the following descriptions based on the footwear: Suspect #1, an approximate height of 5’ 10” – 6’ 2”, stride of 29”, and an approximate shoe size of 10 ½, and the shoe brand was Nike; Suspect #2 was described with an approximate height of 5’ 4” – 5’ 8”, and a stride of about 28”, and shoe size 7; the brand of footwear was not determined. APB Cold Case asked Inv. Miller whether Suspect #2 could be a woman, which she did not discount as a possibility. The tire impressions were also described in the reports as being consistent with a mid-size sedan with a tire width of 6 ½”, 3-groove radial, wheel base of 99”, an inside width of 49 ½”, and an outside width of 62 ½”. Asked about the location where the victim was dumped, Miller said that Highway 93 runs from Las Vegas to Phoenix, but the seclusion of the trail where the body was found could indicate that a person had an awareness of the location. Said Inv. Miller, “You almost have to have some kind of knowledge that the road exists. She was found at noon, and so, she hadn’t been there that long.” She added, “At that time of year in December it stays dark here pretty long, so if you’re traveling down that area in the dark, I don’t know how you could just spot that road without having some kind of knowledge that it exists.” Miller said it was determined that the victim had been dead about 8 hours before she was discovered. But despite the relatively quick discovery of this Jane Doe, there was no identification, and no belongings found at the scene – nothing to help identify her. In many homicide investigations police will canvass neighboring residences and businesses, seeking out witnesses or surveillance video. But in this section of sprawling desert there was no one to interview.

Autopsy and Investigation

Miller said the victim was described by the medical examiner as being about 25-35 years of age, 5’ 3”, with double pierced ears. A rape kit revealed no signs of a sexual assault, but a small fleck of evidence was secured from her abdominal area – something that glowed under a forensic light source. The speck was saved as potential evidence. However, DNA science in 1989 was not as advanced as it is today. At that time, most analysis was conducted by private laboratories which required a significant sample to conduct an examination.

Police did take fingerprints from Jane Doe and sent them to Las Vegas Metro PD and the FBI, but there was no identification. Mohave County Sheriff’s submit the murder case to the FBI’s VICAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program) which uses an in-depth questionnaire to collect information about known and unknown murders and other major crimes, including details of the victim and any known offenders, along with modus operandi. But no leads came from that submission. They also sent teletype messages to law enforcement agencies who may have reported a missing person matching he description, and they also placed an article in a detective magazine. But with no leads, the case goes cold.

Possible Lead – Serial Killer?

Then in 1991, the FBI  contacted Mohave County Sheriff’s investigators with information about a serial killer named Joseph Nissensohn. At the time he was in custody in Tacoma, Washington, his murders having similarities to Mohave’s Jane Doe. Nissensohn was eventually convicted of the murders of 3 teen girls in California between 1981-1989, and the murder of a 46-year-old woman in Washington State in 1991. One news report said that Nissensohn “preyed upon vulnerable runaway girls and subjected them to unimaginable pain and torture.[1]

Nissensohn and an associate, Henry Staub III were once arrested in Mohave County in 1987 for a narcotics crime, and their physical descriptions were consistent with the footwear analysis in the Mohave desert murder. But detectives did not make any connection between Nissensohn and their Jane Doe. Nissensohn has been sentenced to death in California for his crimes. Staub does not appear to be connected to any of Nissensohn’s murders. Again, the case went cold.

Seasoned Detective Brings New Eyes to Case

In 2020, Inv. Lori Miller a retired Los Angeles PD detective joins the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and is assigned the case. After reviewing reports in the file, she begins to retrace the investigative steps from prior detectives. One of her first moves is to run the fingerprints again which results in a hit to a female arrested in Bakersfield, California in 1989 for shoplifting. Miller contacts Bakerfield police and learns more about the arrest of Maria Ortiz. A family member was listed in the paperwork named Esther, then living in Tennessee. When they finally speak, Esther tells Miller that her cousin Marina Ramos had been missing since 1989 and that she had used the fictitious name, Maria Ortiz in the past. Police conduct a DNA comparison between Esther and Jane Doe, and it confirms that Marina Ramos is the true name of the Jane Doe found murdered and dumped in the desert along the desolate dirt trail two weeks before Christmas 1989.

Detective Stunned by Family’s Question

But then Esther asks Inv. Miller a question that shocks the veteran detective – ‘where are Marina’s two babies?’ Miller said, “That’s when she proceeded to tell me that Jasmin was born while Marina was in jail for the shoplifting, and Elizabeth had been born the year prior to that.” Now, in addition to investigating the murder of Marina Ramos, Inv. Miller learns she now has a case of two missing children. Marina Ramos’ family back in California had assumed that Marina, because of her impulsive and spontaneous lifestyle, had settled down somewhere with the girls. But it had been 30 years since any family had seen or heard from Marina and her babies who were just 11 months old and 2 months old at the time.

More About Marina

Marina Ramos was the oldest of 5 children. Her parents were from Puerto Rico. She and her siblings were raised in Lamont, California, about 20 miles from Bakersfield.

Marina’s sister, Margarita, told APB Cold Case that she and Marina had fun when they were young. But as Marina got older, she became more rebellious. Marina had been living with her aunt in California while the rest of the family was in Puerto Rico for a time. Marina’s mother sent for Marina to come and join the family, but when she arrived Marina’s mother found out that Marina was pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter she named Maria. But according to Margarita, Marina continued to be a rebel, finding herself in disagreements with her mother and wanting to leave the family home and live life on her own terms. Marina’s mother told Marina that because she was 18 she could do whatever she wanted, but she could not take baby Maria.

The Tale of 2 Fernandos

Marina returned to Lamont, CA as did the rest of her family. But according to Margarita, the family was still trying to tell Marina what to do. By this time Marina had given birth to her second daughter Elizabeth in June 1988; and she would give birth while in jail to Jasmin in 1989. At about the same time, Marina was in a tumultuous relationship with a man named Fernando. The family doesn’t know his last name or much about him except, they say, he used to hit Marina. The relationship was rocky, said Margarita. “They would break up, but then she would always go back to him. But Fernando used to hit her… always used to beat her up,” said Margarita who added that Marina was also secretly seeing another man named William. Marina’s family did not approve of Marina’s lifestyle, and they told her as much. Tired of being told what to do, Marina drifted away from most of her family except for her cousin, Esther and her sister Margarita. It was around 1988-1989 when Marina stopped by a convenience store where Margarita was working. It would be the last time that Margarita would ever see her sister. And Esther, who passed away in 2023, told Margarita about the last time she saw Marina. It was at Esther’s home in 1989 when Marina showed up with a different Fernando – a man who was also called “Monico”, though he reportedly did not prefer that name.

This second Fernando – who we will refer to as Fernando #2, apparently met Marina at a park near the family home in Bakersfield. Margarita remembers her cousin Esther saying that she believed Fernando #2 was “shady”, and she did not believe his real name was even Fernando. But this Fernando #2 wore fancy clothes and was last seen driving a large SUV as he was taking Marina and the girls to Ontario, California to live “a better life.” Esther was adamantly opposed to the babies going with Marina and Fernando #2.  Margarita recounted a conversation she had with Esther about the incident. “Esther says, I even got on my knees and I begged her please don’t take the girls, don’t take the girls”. But Marina insisted that the girls were going with her and Fernando #2. Esther went to retrieve the girls’ clothing and birth certificates, but when she came back, they had all left. Esther never saw Marina, Elizabeth or Jasmin again.

Who Killed Marina; Where Are Elizabeth & Jasmin?

The tire impressions at the murder scene in Mohave, Arizona are not consistent with the type of vehicle that Fernando #2 was driving when he drove away with Marina and her girls. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been driving another vehicle. Esther assisted police in developing a sketch of Fernando #2, also known as Monico

And because Marina was always returning to her ex-boyfriend, Fernando #1, there was some suspicion by the family that perhaps he could be involved. “That’s what we’re thinking. That’s what me and Esther were talking about. We think that she called Fernando (#1)”, said Margarita. “No matter where she went, she would always call and go back to Fernando #1. But Fernando #1 used to hit her, always used to beat her up.” Margarita said that she and Esther deduced that the reason Marina kept returning to Fernando #1 is because he always had a place for her to live.

Elizabeth and Jasmin

Marina reportedly obtained social security numbers for Elizabeth and Jasmin so that they could receive public assistance benefits. According to Inv. Miller, there has never been any activity under those accounts. But since the girls were so young when they went missing, Miller believes it is possible the girls were brought up under new identities. “I believe they’re still alive. I just think somebody took the opportunity at that time to obtain new social security numbers for them,” said Miller. “They’re hopefully living and thriving as somebody else under different social security numbers,” she added.

DNA Evidence

As part of her follow-up work on the case, Inv. Miller submitted the biological evidence to the lab that was recovered from Marina’s skin during autopsy. This is one aspect of the decades-old case that holds more promise than it would have when Marina was murdered in 1989. DNA science at that time would not have been able to identify a genetic profile. But advances in recent years can amplify even the smallest of specimens, which offers promise for a significant break in the case. Miller said that she now has a DNA profile which is on file in CODIS, the national Combined DNA Identification System. So far, there have been no hits to that profile.

Are You Elizabeth or Jasmin?

Inv. Miller occasionally receives calls from people who believe that they may be Elizabeth or Jasmin. Fortunately, Marina’s eldest daughter Maria has her DNA profile online. If you believe you could be one of Marina’s missing daughters, Inv. Miller offered this advice. “The best thing for people to do is to take a commercial DNA kit and upload their kit to GED Match and Family Tree DNA.” She continued, “If they want to contact me with their kit number, I can compare them, but in essence if they upload their own genetic information, it will match halfway decently to Maria’s kit.”

Theory

Inv. Miller told APB Cold Case that the events which led to Marina’s murder are truly unknown, but she speculates that Marina’s spirited and carefree lifestyle may have caused her to meet up with a person or people that resulted in her murder. “I think she left her daughters with somebody; she hooked up with these people and her activities got a little out of hand, and that led to her demise,” said Miller.

Miller hopes that whoever was involved in Marina’s murder and more specifically in taking or keeping Elizabeth and Jasmin, will decide to come forward and tell her what happened. “It’s time to dig down deep in their hearts and say, ‘this is the right thing to do, and let me tell you what happened that day’ and where those two little girls wound up. Marina’s family prays for any bit of information that will tell them what happened to Marina’s little girls. “…it would mean a lot for us to find the girls. … especially to my mom. Because that was her first-born child, Marina”, said Marina’s sister Margarita.

Call in Your Tips

Inv. Miller continues to work the case, hoping to get an answer to two questions – who killed Marina Ramos? and where are Elizabeth and Jasmin Ramos? She is thankful to all those who have assisted her and previous detectives in the investigation: Marina’s family, including Margarita and Esther who recently passed away, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Bakersfield Police Department, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

If you have any tips that can help Mohave County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation, call 928-753-0753 or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.

Listen to the podcast here: episode and for photographs, timeline and Who’s Who, visit apbcoldcase.com

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Citations:

Police artist sketch – Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Who’s Who – Ramos family photos provided, used with permission

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[1] Placerville Mountain Democrat; Nissensohn sentenced to death; 6/11/2014, p. 1