The Mysterious Murder of Two Mary Morriss - Serial Killer or Hitman's Mistake?
In the history of American criminology there are many mysterious crimes that have not yet been solved. One of them is the murder of two women who had the same name - Mary Morris. They died in the vicinity of the same city within a few days of each other. Moreover, they even looked similar in appearance. Experts believe there are too many coincidences in this case to be random.
On October 12, 2000, 48-year-old Mary Lou Morris got into her car in the yard of her home in suburban Houston. She was on her way to work at the bank, but no one was waiting for her at the office. Mary's husband tried to reach her almost all day. At 5 pm he called the police and reported his wife missing.
The search for the woman did not last long. Towards nightfall, her body was found on a forest road in a completely burnt-out car, just a few kilometers from home. The corpse was so badly burned that experts had to use dental records to confirm its identity.
An examination of the scene revealed that Mary Morris had not been robbed. All valuables, except the wedding ring, were with her. The police suggested that the killer took the jewelry as a “souvenir” or to report to the customer. Different versions were considered, but it was not possible to find a more or less realistic one.
Miss Morris led a simple, quiet life, was a decent and loving wife and a good worker. Friends and work colleagues claimed that she was a good-natured, open person, helped everyone and had no enemies. Three days passed, and the investigation still did not move forward. A person who may have had a motive to kill the 48-year-old woman has not been found.
But then something happened that shed light on this crime. Four days after the first murder, the second occurred. The victim was killed in a similar manner and left in the car without taking any valuables. The victim's name was also Mary Morris and she was approximately the same age and even similar in appearance to the first victim.
In this case, two suspects were immediately found. The second Mary had serious problems both at home and at work. The second husband, Morris, had long lost interest in his wife and cheated on her without a twinge of conscience. At work, in the clinic, the woman made an enemy in the person of one of the nurses. The man was fired from his job, and he believed Morris was to blame.
One day a woman found a note on her desk with one word: “Die.” After that, she asked her husband to buy her a pistol and teach her how to shoot. The husband complied with this request, but, as we see, owning a weapon does not always help. The murder of this Mary Morris was framed as a suicide, but the imitation was very primitive.
During interrogation, the husband of the deceased said that at the time of her death he was at the cinema with his daughter. No other witnesses were found, and he forbade the child to be interrogated. It seemed strange that the man flatly refused to take a lie detector test. He communicated with the police only through a lawyer and behaved defiantly. It later turned out that his wife was insured for $700 thousand.
The second murder gave rise to a completely realistic version. Perhaps the husband of the second Mary Morris hired a killer, but he turned out to be a bungler. The killer first took the life of the wrong Mary Morris and only completed the order on the second attempt. This also explained the disappearance of the ring from the finger of the first victim - the killer had to report.
Another circumstance spoke in favor of this version. The day after the first murder, the Houston Police Department received a call. The anonymous person said that the murder of Mary Morris was a mistake and immediately hung up. It was not possible to find out the identity of the caller.
Despite some leads following the death of the second Mary Morris, the murders remained unsolved. There was not enough evidence to bring charges against any of the suspects.