BECAUSE WE NEVER GAVE UP
Initially, I trusted the system and expected Law Enforcement Officials to solve this horrible crime. I was nearly paralyzed with grief. Fear gripped me as I sought to go on with life without Marlys and without justice.
There were lots of suspects (none with good reasons) so the trail went cold. Months and years passed. Our family moved to the East Coast because of the fear of the unknown murderer. Law Enforcement Officials said they were actively working on the case but did not have much hope that it would be solved. I continued to keep in touch with the Sheriff's Department in Washington County but the same story was told to me each time - "Never a day goes by that we don't look at the case."
As years passed we came to realize that since we had moved away, Law Enforcement Officials thought it wasn't important to pursue the case. A person who was convicted of murder in 1981, confessed to killing Marlys as well as a mother and 3 of her 4 children in St. Cloud, Minnesota, 90 miles away from Afton, and the rape and murder of a young woman from Monticello named Joan Bierschbach. That was passed off as well since he supposedly had an alibi - he was just trying to prove insanity so he could go to an easier facility. Again our hopes were up and no one did anything to solve the murder.
I continued to pressure Law Enforcement, using some of my connections and ideas. I sought "memories" of Marlys - giving her friends and family and all who knew her a chance to give me a "memory" for us to cherish. This stirred up the people in the St. Croix Valley - including Law Enforcement, which led them to another attempt at solving the crime.
A new Sheriff was elected and before he has his paper clips in his desk (as he lovingly tells people), I was in his office pleading with him to solve the case. He said he would give it one last effort and would put a team together along with "new eyes" to work with the original investigators to see if they could do something. They were working now with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Cold Case Unit and the Sheriff had provided space for them to work along with his investigators. Within a couple of months, there were news conferences and press releases once again, asking for help from anyone who might have information regarding Marlys' murder.
"48 HOURS" TV Show heard about the press conference and wanted to do a special on the Cold Case Unit at BCA, but when they saw me in Minnesota for the press conference they wanted to interview me, in Minnesota and at my home in Pennsylvania. Their September 9, 1996 Premiere Show featured our case and it brought dozens of calls to BCA from women all over the country (even Canada) who had recognized Joseph Donald Ture, Jr. as the person who had harassed them, raped them, slashed them, or in some way had come in contact with them in a horrible way. These phone calls gave new evidence that led to the indictment of Ture on December 22, 1996 for the murder of Marlys. After many evidence hearings, the case went to trial in September 1998. Ture was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison on October 14, 1998 (19 years, 5 months, and 8 days after he murdered Marlys), consecutive to the one that he is serving for the murder of Diane Edwards in September 1980.
In that same confession, he had confessed to killing Alice Huling and three of her four children, Susan, Pattie, and Wayne on December 15, 1978. We pushed law Enforcement to take another look at the case - writing letters to the County Attorney, calling on him, and writing letters to the Editor of our local newspaper. Finally, after so many years, Ture was indicted for killing the Huling family on the 20th Anniversary of Marlys' death (May 10, 1999) and the trial began on what would have been Marlys' 39th birthday (January 11, 2000). On February 7, 2000, Joseph Donald Ture, Jr. was convicted on 4 counts of first degree murder and sentenced to 4 additional consecutive life sentences. He is now serving 6 life sentences and will kill no more!