Body found in 1977 homicide was former Philly cop's wife
Police found a DNA match after years of research
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The body of a woman found in Delaware nearly 45 years ago has finally been identified as the wife of a former Philadelphia cop — who was never reported missing, police said.
After decades of dead ends, New Castle County police said Tuesday they identified the homicide victim as Marie Petry Heiser, a 50-year-old Philadelphia woman.
A teen riding his bike home in June 1977 found her naked body in a ditch, the Delaware News Journal reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her husband, William Heiser Sr., was a member of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Highway Patrol from the 1950s until the early ’60s, authorities said.
Police said Marie was a homemaker and worked part-time at a former country club in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s.
The couple also also performed "thrill shows" in area arenas — and William Heiser left the department following a serious injury while practicing for one of the events, police in Delaware said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Heiser’s family say they have "some sense of closure" regarding her disappearance.
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At the time of Marie Heiser’s disappearance, he told the couple’s two children that their mother had packed her bags and left their Philadelphia home — giving no info about where she was headed, authorities said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Son Bill Heiser Jr. told WTXF that his parents were having difficulties in their relationship at the time of her disappearance.
"We were told things weren’t good at the house," he recalled. "She ended up packing up and leaving. We never in a million years ever, ever thought that it was foul play or something would happen to her."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A medical examiner at the time ruled the death a homicide, but an ensuing probe into the woman’s murder stumped detectives trying to identify the victim or make progress in the case.
"The case grew cold," investigators said in a statement. "At the time, police relied heavily on fingerprints and dental records in hopes to identify human remains."
William Heiser — who worked as a truck driver after leaving the police department — sold the family’s home in December 1977 and relocated to South Daytona, Florida, in the late 1970s, according to news reports cited by the Delaware News Journal.
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He died of cancer in 2006, the newspaper reported.
The decades-old mystery was solved in part after years of working with forensic and DNA experts, who identified Marie Heiser through genealogical records, police said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Heiser Jr., a retired police officer himself, praised investigators for the breakthrough in the case, saying the identification gives his family "some sense of closure" regarding his mom’s disappearance.
Investigators are asking for anyone who knew the woman or her family to contact detectives, especially former residents of her Crafton Street home in northeast Philadelphia or from the former Ashbourne County Club.