Body exhumed in search for woman

Mother not giving up quest to find missing daughter

By ANNYSA JOHNSON
anjohnson@journalsentinel.com

Posted: April 19, 2007

One body has been exhumed and at least one more exhumation is planned as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of a Milwaukee woman, whose mother has waged a national campaign to convince authorities that she is dead and to find her remains.

The exhumations, at a Kenosha cemetery, are being conducted outside of a 5-month-old John Doe investigation into the disappearance of Becky Marzo, who was last seen walking into her N. 5th St. apartment in December 2003.

Electronic court records have confirmed the existence of the John Doe hearings in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, but officials and those likely to have been subpoenaed have declined to comment, citing the secrecy of the proceedings. Assistant Milwaukee County District Attorney Mark Williams said this week that the examinations of graves are unrelated to the John Doe probe.

Marzo's mother, Karren Kraemer of Oconomowoc, said she paid $1,700 for the first exhumation, which was overseen by the Milwaukee Police Department earlier this year.

"We have every intention of exhuming as many graves as necessary," said Kraemer, who is working to found a non-profit group to aid families of missing persons and is lobbying for legislation to create a DNA database for identifying victims' remains.

Kraemer's representative in the state Assembly, Oconomowoc Republican Joel Kleefisch, said he is exploring such legislation.

"We're trying to find out if there's a way to do it and what the cost would be," he said.

Marzo was 23 when she was last seen by two friends entering the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, who has been described by Kraemer and others as abusive.

Police initially dismissed her as an adult runaway who left of her own accord, after her boyfriend told investigators that she had gone to Florida to work as a prostitute. Hers is officially listed as a missing persons case, but Milwaukee police also are investigating it as a homicide.

Since Marzo's disappearance, her mother says, there has been no activity on her Social Security number or credit cards. She's not been arrested. No bills have been paid. And her driver's license expired and has not been renewed.

The investigation has centered around the boyfriend, whom police have questioned, along with several family members.

The body that was exhumed and the one expected to follow were buried by the boyfriend's uncle, who operates funeral homes in southeastern Wisconsin. Investigators are opening the graves in an effort to find Marzo's body.

His attorney, John Fuchs, said this week that the uncle was not involved in Marzo's disappearance.

"I don't believe my client has anything to do with any criminal activity," Fuchs said.

National attention

The Marzo case has drawn national attention. Philadelphia businessman Joe Mammana, who has made a name bankrolling "bounties" in prominent missing persons cases, has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction or the discovery of Marzo's remains. And the NBC television program "Dateline" has a program on the case in production.