On the morning of October 29, 1972, 23-year-old white female Marla Jean Hires left her home in Stanton, California, before sunrise to head to her job as a claims adjuster at Southern California Edison in Rosemead. She was a wife and mother of a two-year-old child. That morning, she was dressed in a purple blouse, brown flare pants, and brown heels, carrying a matching brown purse.
She drove off in her blue 1971 Mazda RX2 sedan and was not seen alive again.
Later that day, her family—concerned by her absence—reported her missing. The next morning, the lifeless body of 23-year-old white female Marla Jean Hires was discovered wrapped in old drapery and carpet, discarded down an embankment off Imperial Highway near Kellogg Drive in Yorba Linda, California. Her vehicle was later found abandoned near a Sumitomo Bank in Stanton, close to where the suspect lived and worked.
The case remained unsolved for decades until advancements in DNA technology led to a breakthrough. In 2004, DNA evidence linked the crime to Edwin Dean Richardson, who was already incarcerated in Ohio for the murder of another young woman, Joanna Boughner. Richardson, then 70 years old, was extradited to California and charged with the murder of 23-year-old white female Marla Jean Hires. He pled guilty to first-degree murder in 2006. Although he admitted to raping and strangling her, he could not be charged with rape due to the statute of limitations.
Richardson’s conviction brought long-awaited closure to the family of 23-year-old white female Marla Jean Hires. He was sentenced to life in prison, the maximum penalty available under California law at the time of the crime. The case stands as a testament to the power of forensic science in solving cold cases and delivering justice, even decades later.
