Murder of Marcia King

Marcia Lenore Sossoman (King) ( – ) was a 21-year-old Arkansas woman who was murdered in April 1981 and whose body was discovered in Troy, Ohio approximately 48 hours after her murder. Her body remained unidentified for 36 years before being identified via DNA analysis and genetic genealogy in April 2018. King was one of the first unidentified decedents to be identified via this method of forensic investigation. Prior to her 2018 identification, King was informally known as "Buckskin Girl" and "Miami County Jane Doe". The first of these two names is in reference to the distinctive tasseled buckskin poncho she was wearing at the time of her discovery. Following the identification of her body, Marcia King's family erected a new headstone at her grave in Riverside Cemetery, inscribed with her actual name. The investigation into her murder is ongoing. On April 24, 1981, three young men discovered the body of a young Caucasian woman in a ditch alongside Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio. One of the three men, Greg Bridenbaugh, initially noticed the decedent's distinctive buckskin poncho. Informing one of his companions, Neal Hoffman, to take a look at the coat, Hoffman walked closer to the article of clothing before turning toward Bridenbaugh, stating: "Oh my God, there's a woman in that coat!" The young woman was lying in a fetal position, on her right side, and without shoes or socks. The men immediately reported their discovery to the police. The decedent's body was autopsied on the afternoon of her discovery. The medical examination revealed she had suffered extensive blunt force trauma to the head and neck, before she had been strangled to death approximately 48 hours before her body was discovered. Additionally, her liver was found to have been lacerated. She had not been subjected to any form of sexual assault. The woman had been between and in height, aged between eighteen and twenty-six, and weighed . She had naturally reddish-brown hair, which was parted in the middle and braided into pigtails on both sides of her head.