Before an Oklahoma man was apprehended and charged with being the “enraged killer,” who had been hunted for decades, the murder of a Nebraska child remained unsolved for almost 55 years, according to officials.
According to a statement from the sheriff and prosecutor in Saunders County, Nebraska, Joseph A. Ambroz, 77, was arrested by marshals in Ponca City, Oklahoma, this week after being charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of 17-year-old Mary Kay Heese.
The girl’s body was discovered in a “roadside ditch south of Wahoo just after midnight,” according to the sheriff and prosecution, after she was reported missing on the evening of March 25, 1969.
The Hope
The family of Heese never gave up hope that her killer would be apprehended. Over the years, the family has kept up a Facebook page, urging people to help bring justice to the boy whose “life was taken by this enraged killer.”
Though it wasn’t immediately apparent what part, if any, the discovery of the girl’s remains played in Ambroz’s arrest, investigators recently exhumed Heese’s body.
Jennifer Joakim, the county attorney for Saunders, was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
According to Saunders County Sheriff Chris Lichtenberg, the indictment against Ambroz has not been unsealed, and he declined to provide any additional information regarding the alleged connection between the elderly suspect and Heese.
On Wednesday, the sheriff stated, “Unfortunately, at this point, I can’t release details as to not jeopardize the case,” According to a jail spokesman, Ambroz remained at the Kay County Detention Facility on Wednesday after being arrested on Monday.
Ambroz had not yet been assigned or hired a defense attorney, according to the records.