Vacaville Cold Case Warms As Suspect Identified Following Arrest For A Separate Murder
VACAVILLE (CBS13) — Tonight investigators may be closing in on justice in the unsolved murder of a Vacaville teenager by releasing the identity of a suspect.
"I have a lot of questions. What possibly could a 14-year-old little girl do to make someone so angry to beat her so brutally the way they did—to take her life? What possibly could she have done?"
Mary Borchers talking about her childhood best friend Deanna Johnson. The two played together on weekends and even shared a locker together at school.
"Very, very sad when you walk into your classroom and you don't see that bubbly, bright-eyed girl anymore."
On Nov. 15, 1982, Deanna went to a party just down the street from her home. But the next day, the 14-year-old's body was found not far down the road. She'd been strangled and beaten.
"Yeah when she asked me to go to a party. So I have a lot of guilt 'cause I didn't go. Maybe I could have stopped something. Maybe I could have helped her. "
Vacaville Police say 47-year-old Marvin Markle was also at the party. They say he's always been a suspect, but are only confirming it now after his arrest for another murder. He's accused of killing a Butte County woman in 2001.
Mary knows markle by his nickname, Ziggy. She says Deanna didn't hang out with him. But after her murder, she heard he was the one responsible for her death.
"Over the years I still kept hearing Ziggy is the one who murdered her."
And now that he's behind bars, Mary remains hopeful that someone will come forward and give them the evidence they need to arrest Markle for Deanna's murder.
"Many people have been threatened by him. They've stated that they're afraid to come forward. They're all safe now to please come forward. Deanna and her family deserve justice."
After Deanna was murdered, her family moved out of the state, but they, too, remain hopeful police will one day make an arrest.
