Lance Cpl. Larry Martens, 21, and Lance Cpl. Rodney “Rocky” Padilla, 19, have been discovered brutally murdered on Sept. 7, 1980. Greater than 45 years later, the chilly case stays on individuals’s minds whereas DNA proof may unseal truths lengthy held under the floor.
A brand new episode of the true crime podcast APB Chilly Case revisits the 2 navy service members’ deaths and the way no culprits to today have been held answerable for what occurred that fateful evening in Hawaii.
The episode, titled “The Okay-Bay Killings,” examines and explores how Martens and Padilla—each stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii—have been discovered crushed and shot close to Maunalua Bay Seashore Park simply hours after leaving their base for an evening out.
The podcast, hosted by profession legislation enforcement officer Mark Spawn and his spouse and TV producer, Jeanna, paints the image of the crimes towards the tropical backdrop of Oahu within the late Seventies and early Eighties—delving into the relationships between native communities and navy personnel, and the lingering questions of the Marines’ deaths that for many years haven’t been answered.
“For us at APB Chilly Case, we hunt down circumstances just like the ‘Okay-Bay Killings’ to inform the story of decades-old investigations that should be instructed with a view to deliver renewed consideration from the listening public in hope of leveraging the lead wanted by police to resolve the case,” Mark Spawn instructed Navy.com. “Our podcasts function unique interviews with detectives and members of the family of homicide victims and lacking individuals.”
Households of the victims proceed to cling onto hope, in addition to the facility of know-how. Newer DNA and forensic methods nonexistent a long time in the past could also be a approach to crack the case.
NCIS Stays ‘Dedicated’ to Justice
Naval Felony Investigative Service (NCIS) reopened its investigation and is utilizing forensic know-how in its quest for solutions, although officers stated the 2 Marines’ murders have by no means been forgotten.
“NCIS has labored tirelessly all through this investigation, actively pursuing all leads and incorporating superior and rising investigative applied sciences to uncover the details surrounding the tragic deaths of Lance Cpls. Larry Martens and Rodney Padilla,” Meredith March, spokesperson for the Workplace of Strategic Communications at NCIS, instructed Navy.com. “NCIS and our legislation enforcement companions stay dedicated to making sure the perpetrators of this crime are held to account.”
To this date, no homicide suspects have ever been recognized although Honolulu Police investigated the matter in 1980.
“It was a Saturday evening, and he was on the lookout for any individual to exit on the town with… that’s the final time I ever noticed him alive,” former Marine Sgt. Dan Boatman, a pal of Martens, instructed APB.
Investigators now consider the 2 Marines have been killed round 2 a.m. that September morning, which equates to an approximate five-hour window between when Martens and Padilla left their base and once they misplaced their lives.
Officers stated the victims’ wallets weren’t taken, the automobile they used was not stolen, and no gunshots have been reported within the neighborhood.
“We all know there was a witness,” NCIS Particular Agent James Curry instructed ABP within the podcast episode that additionally options interviews with former Marines, investigators and members of the family. “Even when that witness is now not with us, they most likely instructed their household, their, their baby or any individual who would now be of an grownup age.”
We want that particular person to come back ahead. – NCIS Particular Agent James Curry
A kind of members of the family is Padilla’s older brother, Joe, who’s a retired legislation enforcement officer who for many years has advocated for officers and investigators to revisit the case. He and his aged mom stay optimistic, to some extent.
“I’d prefer to see some motion whereas she will nonetheless respect it,” Padilla instructed ABP. “We simply need to know what occurred.”
When requested about Curry’s remarks relating to witnesses, in addition to what number of leads investigators have obtained over time, March stated no additional info relating to the case can be launched “out of respect for the investigative course of.”
$10,000 Reward
Mark Spawn stated he got here throughout this specific chilly case as a consequence of a legislation enforcement colleague who referred him to Joe Padilla, a commander on the Denver Colorado Police Division who ,like Spawn, is a graduate of the FBI Nationwide Academy.
“Joe shared the story with me and supplied background concerning the case,” Spawn stated. “My spouse and I developed interviews with former platoon mates of the sufferer Marines, in addition to interviews with NCIS.”
He acknowledged that the longer a case stays chilly, the more durable it’s to crack—for occasionally myriad causes.
“As you may think about, the standard problem with chilly circumstances is fading recollections, witnesses who cross away, deteriorated or misplaced proof, and so forth.,” he stated. “However there may also be shifting of loyalty and allegiances involving perpetrators who would possibly now be prepared to speak with police.
“And naturally, the advances in forensic science because the murders, notably in DNA, now permits for the smallest traces of a suspect’s organic proof to be traced. Detectives at the moment are hoping for each—for a witness who they consider was current to come back ahead, and for DNA to determine a suspect(s).”
The navy desires all the assistance they will get. NCIS is asking anybody with info to come back ahead, providing a $10,000 reward for particulars resulting in the arrest and conviction of these answerable for the murders.
Suggestions may be submitted by calling CrimeStoppers Hawaii at (808) 955-8300 or by submitting info at NCIS.navy.mil.
