Officials: Man admits being 'Blind Faith' killer

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

May. 16, 2014 6:29 PM ET

Officials: Man admits being 'Blind Faith' killer
By GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press

A man found not guilty in a long-perplexing 1984 New Jersey murder-for-hire case made famous by the book "Blind Faith" has confessed that he was indeed the hit man, authorities said Friday.
The revelation came one day after the same man, Larry Thompson, was indicted on a murder charge in a 1979 slaying in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor Joseph Coronato said Thompson cannot be tried again for the same crime, however — the 1984 shooting death of Maria Marshall. Marshall was found shot to death in a picnic area along the Garden State Parkway.
Coronato said his office reopened the file on Thompson last year after hearing from the district attorney's office in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, because of similarities between the cases.

Marshall's husband, Toms River insurance salesman Robert Marshall, was convicted in 1986 of paying to have her killed, and for nearly 20 years was the first in line in New Jersey slated for execution after the state reinstated the death penalty in 1982. His death sentence was overturned in 2004 and the state abolished the death penalty three years later.

~snip~
The saga was the subject of Joe McGinniss' true-crime novel "Blind Faith" and a 1990 miniseries of the same name.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/txdam/54828a5e8d9d48b7ba8b94ba38a9ef22/Article_2014-05-16-Blind%20Faith%20Killing-Hit%20Man/id-0300f95e13f14ec7a94b841ccac7b9bb

[Historic NY]

1. I hope he hits the third rail after letting the poor guy in NJ rot away

for a crime he didn't do.

[Tom Ripley]

2. Robert Marshall hasn't been rotting away for a crime he didn't do...

he was convicted of contracting for the murder of his wife. The authorities have always known that he actually didn't pull the trigger.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Maria Marshall Murder for Hire Plot Operative Confesses 30 Years Later

Maria Marshall Murder for Hire Plot Operative Confesses 30 Years Later
May 16th, 2014

TOMS RIVER – Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced today the results of a twelve month cooperative investigation which resulted in an admission by Larry Thompson, 71, of Louisiana in his involvement in the shooting death of Maria Marshall almost thirty years ago. Mrs. Marshall was shot at approximately 12:30 AM on September 7, 1984 in a picnic area of the Garden State Parkway in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey. What makes this cold case most news worthy is that fact that an Atlantic County Jury found Thompson not guilty of Maria Marshall’s murder on March 5, 1986 due to a false alibi presented on behalf of Thompson.

In the early hours of September 7, 1984 members of Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police were directed to the Oyster Creek Picnic Area on the Garden State Parkway. The body of Maria Marshall was found in the front passenger seat of a white Cadillac registered to her husband Robert O. Marshall. Mrs. Marshall’s head was leaning over into the driver’s seat. Mrs. Marshall had been shot twice at close range in the back with what later was determined to be a .45 caliber automatic pistol. Her husband stated that he and his wife had spent the evening in Atlantic City and were on their way home to Toms River when he noticed a problem with the vehicles right rear tire. Marshall stated he pulled into the picnic area to check the tire, exited the vehicle and was walking to the right rear of his vehicle when he was struck on the head and knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant(s). When Marshall awoke he stated that he found his wife shot as described above. Investigators found the right rear tire flat; the loss of air was caused by an 11/2” to 2” inch cut in the side wall where it meets the tread.

A three month investigation took place at the time in New Jersey and the Shreveport, Louisiana area. In January of 1985 the following individuals, with their ages at the time, were indicted for the murder of Maria Marshall: Robert O. Marshall, 45, of Toms River, NJ, Billy Wayne McKinnon, 41, of Shreveport La., Robert A. Cumber, 45, of Bossier City La. and Larry N. Thompson, 41, of Fair View Alfa, La.

On January 27, 1986 the trial of Marshall and Thompson began in Mays Landing, NJ. The trial had a change of venue because of the pre-trial publicity in Ocean County. The trial ended on March 5, 1986. Marshall was found guilty of offering money or the promise of money to individuals for the murder of his wife. The same jury returned the death penalty against Marshall. Thompson who the indictment charged as the shooter of Maria Marshall was found not guilty. During the defense of Thompson he and his lawyer relied on the testimony of several individuals, among them Thompson’s wife Wanda, his son Brian and his brother Steven who testified that they had seen Thompson in the state of Louisiana on or about the date of the shooting thus giving him an alibi for that date.

More:
http://www.ocsignal.com/2014/05/maria-marshall-murder-for-hire-plot-operative-confesses-30-years-later/