Holly’s body was found decomposing in her ex-boyfriend’s apartment. He fled the country, but was eventually convicted of her murder.
This writing is part of a continuing series on cold cases linked to domestic violence. Cases are taken from Unsolved Mysteries.
The case of Holly Maddux is on season 8, episode 7 of Unsolved Mysteries.
For legal purposes, the “husband” in this case was charged with crimes against his partner. He was charged with first-degree murder and given a life sentence in 2002. I have no physical evidence of domestic violence, only circumstantial evidence, the narrative given to us by those involved, and extensive knowledge on the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence. …
Missing since August 22, 1980.
24-year-old Zita Cecilia Gutierrez (known as “Cecilia”) was supposed to pick up a friend at around 9:30 p.m. on August 22, 1980 after she left her Bethesda, Maryland workplace, the Kenwood County Club.
Although a co-worker saw her car leaving the country club shortly after she checked out of work at 9:25 p.m., he could not confirm whether she was in it, [Detective Jayne] Bowers said (Source: Black & Missing Foundation).
Cecilia was supposed to pick her friend up at a bus stop near the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, and then meet her fiancé at a local…
Murdered on December 22, 2011.
A few days before Christmas, on December 22, 2011, 56-year-old Bonnie Gayle Clark Marrow was shot and killed while driving to work in Richmond, Virginia. Before she was murdered, authorities determined that she had made two stops: to a Wawa and then to her son’s grave.
Ironically, 22-year-old Robert Cox Jr. [her son] was also murdered in his car in 2010. “There is no indication of connection between the two cases,” said Detective Michael Gouldman with the Richmond Police Homicide Unit (Source: NBC12, EXCLUSIVE: New information in murder of Henrico woman).
Found dead on February 20, 1983.
On February 17, 1983, 24-year-old Norma O. Gonzales was reported missing by her child’s babysitter when she failed to return to her Las Vegas, Nevada home. Three days later, on the 20th, a couple out four-wheeling in the Red Rock Canyon discovered her body. Authorities determined Norma had been murdered by gunshots to her head and neck.
Miss Gonzales, her hands tied behind her back and wearing only a green pullover blouse, was shot in the head and neck, police said. …
Found dead on June 15, 2001.
The body of 37-year-old Constance Burnett Colleton was discovered at 1831 North Pearl Street in Jacksonville, Florida on June 15, 2001. She was murdered by “blunt head trauma.”
At some point, First Coast Crime Stoppers added Constance’s case to the Unsolved Crimes playing cards for inmates. This is usually done because an investigation is stalled and the community’s help is needed.
Authorities have not released any more details.
Missing since December 31, 1990.
On July 25, 1991, 34-year-old Vanessa L. Smith was finally reported missing by her aunt. She was last seen seven months earlier on December 31, 1990, at the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The details on who was with Vanessa that night are a bit unclear. NamUs writes that Vanessa was out with her boyfriend on New Year’s Eve, but then he was arrested for some reason, at which point she was then seen out with her former boyfriend.
She was accompanied with her boyfriend who was arrested and detained. Mrs. Smith was later observed with her (former boyfriend) who…
Found dead on September 15, 2005.
On the morning of September 15, 2005, authorities found the body of a 78-year-old woman named Arlene Walker Ivey, just as her family reported her missing. She was found in the Potato Creek in Thomaston, Georgia near the Hannah’s Mill Road Bridge.
Police claim that Arlene had been murdered at her home 17 miles away and then her body was transported to the Creek. Her home had also been ransacked. There are currently no suspects or leads.
…GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] agents say they are confident this case can be solved and her killer brought to justice. “We follow…
Missing since November 19, 1999.
23-year-old LaResha Deana Walker dropped off her two-year-old son at her sister’s house on November 19, 1999 and drove back to her East Nashville, Tennessee townhome. She was supposed to take her car to a mechanic in Murfreesboro early the next day.
That night she spoke to her father on the phone at around 9:30 or 10 p.m. Additionally, a neighbor claimed that at some point they heard her arguing with someone outside her townhome. LaResha has never been seen or heard from again. Her vehicle has also disappeared.
When LaResha didn’t pick up her son on the 20th, her…
Missing since September 20, 1985.
25-year-old Olynthia Ann Harper dropped off her two children at a friend’s Syracuse, New York house on September 20, 1985 and then disappeared. There is no information publicly available on her case, and it remains unsolved.
Olynthia left behind a daughter named Walika McArthur, 11-years-old; and a son named Morrice Harper, 18-months-old.
If you have any information on the disappearance or whereabouts of Olynthia Ann Harper, please contact the Syracuse Police Department at (315)442-5111.
Missing since November 8, 2001.
28-year-old Lakeithia Shanea Slaughter disappeared from California on November 8, 2001. Different accounts claim she either went missing from her mother’s apartment in Stockton or another area in San Joaquin.
There are no publicly available details on the circumstances around her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.
Lakeithia, nicknamed “Kei-Kei,” was born in San Joaquin to her mother, Mary Ivy, and her father, Keith Slaughter. She had at least one sister named Lashana Slaughter.
If you have any information on the disappearance or whereabouts of Lakeithia Shanea Slaughter, please contact the Stockton Police Department at (209)937-8495.
