Oconomowoc Focus Article - June 29, 2006

City of Oconomowoc - A reward fund for information on the disappearance of a former resident got a big boost this week when it was announced a Crime Stopper's philanthropist had pledged $70,000. Karren Kraemer and her family originally put up $30,000 for any information about her daughter, Becky Marzo, and her disappearance and suspected murder.

Kraemer has been networking with a nationwide group of families of missing children, media outlets and crime experts and through those contacts was introduced to the donor, Joe Mammana, a well-to-do Philadelphia-based businessman with a colorful past - and a commitment to helping hurting families.

The $70,000 will be added to money already given by Marzo's family. Supporters hope the hefty reward will bring forth information about Marzo's disappearance in December 2003.

Mammana first made headlines by posting a $100,000 reward in the Natalee Holloway case when the college student was reported missing in Aruba.

Since then, Mammana has made the same offer in other cases.

Kraemer also said she has received offers of help from Oconomowoc people interested in helping her keep Marzo's case in the public eye as well as raise awareness for the issue of domestic violence.

A local event is being planned for sometime this summer or early fall and Kraemer said she is hard at work having a missing persons poster created and distributed throughout Milwaukee and Lake Country.

In addition, Kraemer said she has developed contacts within the Fox Network.

"National exposure for Becky's case is coming," she said.

The Milwaukee Police Department has said the unsolved case is open and under investigation, and Kraemer said she is hopeful that arrests may be coming soon.

The Oconomowoc mother's pain and persistence over finding out what happened to her daughter led her to organize a vigil in December 2005 at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and to countless hours of her own "legwork" and investigation of what may have befallen Marzo.

Marzo, 23, was living in the 3100 block of North 5th Street, Milwaukee, where she was last seen in the late evening hours Dec. 13, 2003, at the residence she shared with her boyfriend.

Kraemer said she believes her daughter was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her then 37-year-old boyfriend, who is considered a person of interest in the case.

Kraemer said she and her family became aware of Marzo's violent relationship when her daughter came to them after having been beaten in March 2003, allegedly by her boyfriend.

Marzo suffered a broken nose, had hunks of her hair pulled out and had been choked.

Marzo, at her family's insistence, made a complaint to police and battery charges were filed against the man who had a prior record for domestic disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon.

Despite her family's grave concern, Kraemer said Marzo resumed her relationship with the man and discontinued communication with her family.

Kraemer said she believed her daughter was afraid for her life and that of her family.

Marzo's co-workers later told Kraemer that she continued to suffer beatings from the boyfriend and often came to work bruised and depressed.

In January 2004, Kraemer said she began leaving messages on her daughter's cell phone, all of which went unanswered.

By June, Kraemer said she began to become alarmed. The death of Marzo's grandfather and a brother's accident had occurred with no word from her.

Kraemer said by the time she went to the Milwaukee Police Department to file a missing persons report, she knew in her heart her daughter was dead.

Becky Marzo was one of five children Kraemer and her husband, David, have been raising, two of them Oconomowoc High School grads.

Kraemer has been fighting an uphill battle to find out Marzo's fate, and though she cannot say anything about the newest developments in the case, she is finally hopeful much-need attention to the case is coming.

"Becky was a wonderful person and she didn't deserve to die like this." Kraemer said.

Kraemer said anyone in the community interested in helping the family organize a fundraising event to boost awareness should call her at (262) 434-0219.