Well, I wasn't really sure how I should start out my new blog. But, I will introduce myself first. My name is Shelly McQuillen and I live in Mesa, Arizona. I am a 39 year old mother of 4. Two gorgeous stepsons; Joshua who is 17, Matthew who is 13, my son Zachary who is 9 and my daughter Amanda who is 4. I am happily married to my teenage love Mark. I am a licensed hairdresser who doesnt like what she does for a living anymore, LOL, so I went back to school in 2003 and will be graduating in December with an Associates Degree in Accounting. I will then continue on to get my Bachelors Degree from Arizona State University. Life has been busy these last few months, very hectic, with a movie being filmed right here where we live. Its called "The Kingdom" and its starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Chris Cooper and Jeremy Piven. Its being put out by Universal, directed by Peter Berg and written by Michael Mann. We have had a real good time with it. Well, I am gonna run for now, but I would like to share at least one piece of good news with you everytime I write. Today's good news is that after 22 years they have finally caught one of the SOB's who murdered two young girls that I was friends with in August of 1984. Below is the story of his capture. THANK YOU SHERIFF JOE and all the other law enforcement officials who had a hand in the case. Will write again soon.
Suspect indicted in desert murders after 2 decades
Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 10, 2006 12:00 AM
Authorities on Wednesday said they have solved a 22-year-old murder case in which two teenage girls were slain and their bodies left in the desert north of Mesa. Maricopa County sheriff's investigators said DNA evidence from the crime scene led them to 42-year-old Scott Junior Merila. He was indicted Tuesday in the first-degree murders of Kelly Lynn Cooper, 16, and Ermelinda Fiorella Iannuzzi, 14, that occurred in late August 1984. Authorities believe an accomplice may still be on the loose. The girls' bodies, one nude and the other partially clothed, were found before dawn Aug. 27, 1984, about three miles north of Mesa, between the Beeline Highway and the Arizona Canal. A woman looking for friends in the area spotted one of the girls when her headlights shone on a pair of legs protruding from brush.Kelly and Ermelinda were last seen alive several days prior. Autopsy reports were inconclusive, but the medical examiner ruled the deaths as homicides. It also appeared the girls were engaged in sexual activity prior to the slayings, but no one could say whether it was consensual. In the days following, deputies interrogated a 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy in connection with the murders. A Sheriff's Office official said both were "investigative leads" and neither was considered a suspect. Authorities would not divulge why the pair was originally sought for questioning.The case grew cold and wasn't re-examined until 2002, when the girls' clothing was analyzed for DNA. Criminologists found two sets of DNA from semen found at the crime scene, but neither fit the profile of anyone in the Combined DNA Index System, a national repository where law enforcement can exchange DNA information.A break in the case came in 2005, when one of the DNA profiles matched someone being held in a Florida jail on suspicion of aggravated assault. That man was Merila, who at the time was using the alias Mark Stephen Merila. He made bail by the time Maricopa County deputies arrived in Florida. It would take nearly a year for authorities to catch up with Merila in a San Diego jail. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Merila is in the process of being extradited to Maricopa County."We have our man," Arpaio said. "After all these years, finding the killer of these girls gives the families closure. But we know there's another killer out there somewhere."Merila told investigators he had sex with an unknown girl that night; he was celebrating his 20th birthday in a portion of desert known for late-night teenage partying. His semen was found on Cooper's underwear, but investigators have not been able to find the originator of other semen found at the crime scene, Arpaio said.Linda Wimmer said she worried she wouldn't be alive to see daughter Kelly's killer come to justice. Wimmer has late-stage breast cancer. She described her daughter as a thoughtful, politically minded girl who enjoyed music and writing poetry. Ermelinda, she said, was a tiny girl with a big voice who loved to sing.Despite Wimmer's illness, she anticipates sitting "in the front row" for Merila's trial. "I've got a reason to keep going," she said.
Suspect indicted in desert murders after 2 decades
Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 10, 2006 12:00 AM
Authorities on Wednesday said they have solved a 22-year-old murder case in which two teenage girls were slain and their bodies left in the desert north of Mesa. Maricopa County sheriff's investigators said DNA evidence from the crime scene led them to 42-year-old Scott Junior Merila. He was indicted Tuesday in the first-degree murders of Kelly Lynn Cooper, 16, and Ermelinda Fiorella Iannuzzi, 14, that occurred in late August 1984. Authorities believe an accomplice may still be on the loose. The girls' bodies, one nude and the other partially clothed, were found before dawn Aug. 27, 1984, about three miles north of Mesa, between the Beeline Highway and the Arizona Canal. A woman looking for friends in the area spotted one of the girls when her headlights shone on a pair of legs protruding from brush.Kelly and Ermelinda were last seen alive several days prior. Autopsy reports were inconclusive, but the medical examiner ruled the deaths as homicides. It also appeared the girls were engaged in sexual activity prior to the slayings, but no one could say whether it was consensual. In the days following, deputies interrogated a 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy in connection with the murders. A Sheriff's Office official said both were "investigative leads" and neither was considered a suspect. Authorities would not divulge why the pair was originally sought for questioning.The case grew cold and wasn't re-examined until 2002, when the girls' clothing was analyzed for DNA. Criminologists found two sets of DNA from semen found at the crime scene, but neither fit the profile of anyone in the Combined DNA Index System, a national repository where law enforcement can exchange DNA information.A break in the case came in 2005, when one of the DNA profiles matched someone being held in a Florida jail on suspicion of aggravated assault. That man was Merila, who at the time was using the alias Mark Stephen Merila. He made bail by the time Maricopa County deputies arrived in Florida. It would take nearly a year for authorities to catch up with Merila in a San Diego jail. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Merila is in the process of being extradited to Maricopa County."We have our man," Arpaio said. "After all these years, finding the killer of these girls gives the families closure. But we know there's another killer out there somewhere."Merila told investigators he had sex with an unknown girl that night; he was celebrating his 20th birthday in a portion of desert known for late-night teenage partying. His semen was found on Cooper's underwear, but investigators have not been able to find the originator of other semen found at the crime scene, Arpaio said.Linda Wimmer said she worried she wouldn't be alive to see daughter Kelly's killer come to justice. Wimmer has late-stage breast cancer. She described her daughter as a thoughtful, politically minded girl who enjoyed music and writing poetry. Ermelinda, she said, was a tiny girl with a big voice who loved to sing.Despite Wimmer's illness, she anticipates sitting "in the front row" for Merila's trial. "I've got a reason to keep going," she said.
posted by Shelly | 10:06 AM
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