By Malynda Fulton
LAKE PARK — Authorities have unraveled an 8-year-old cold case of a Kentucky woman strangled to death in Lake Park on Halloween night 2002.
The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office has charged Maurilio Masadiego Martinez, 40, with rape and murder in connection with the death of 47-year-old Joy Morris of Madisonville, Ky. Martinez is being held in custody at Lowndes County Jail and has been denied bond.
Kathy Morris said that she had just gotten up for the day and was preparing to go to work on third shift when she learned an arrest had been made in her stepmother’s murder.
“When I found out, I was so excited,” she said. “I would’ve gotten up on the roof and shouted if I thought anyone would hear me. Closure is everything they say it is.”
Woody Morris, Joy’s husband, said, “It took a while to get to this point, but I think the authorities in charge of this investigation have done a wonderful job. I thank them for their work and dedication to the case.”
The Morrises say the murder tore their family apart and they finally feel like they can move forward from the tragedy that began Oct. 31, 2002.
That evening, Joy Morris was driving north after escorting a truck to West Palm Beach, Fla.
“She and her husband operated a vehicle escort service for wide and oversized loads,” said Lowndes County Sheriff’s Capt. Wanda Edwards. “Her black Mustang had a yellow ‘wide load’ tag stripped across the rear bumper in large letters and a sign on the car door reading ‘Double M Escort Service.’”
She was scheduled to meet another load on Nov. 2 at the T & A Truck Stop near Exit 2 in Lowndes County.
“When she got off at Exit 2, she got something to eat and gassed up,” Edwards said. “She also called her husband, who was in Kentucky at the time, and a friend, and told them where she was.”
Edwards said that the Morris’ husband called her again later that night, but never got an answer.
“The next day, we found her strangled in her vehicle, which was parked in a wooded grove behind a Best Western Motel near Exit 2,” Edwards said. “Her clothes were in disarray so we figured she had been sexually assaulted.”
Further investigation revealed that Morris was raped before being killed.
Years later, DNA collected from the crime scene matches Morris and an unidentified person, Edwards said.
“We entered the DNA code into a database and we didn’t get any hits,” she said. “After that we traveled to South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky ... anywhere a lead took us. We talked to truck drivers she had escorted and basically got DNA from everybody. But we never could find a match, so the case went cold.”
Lowndes County detectives got a break in the case in July 2008.
“Valdosta Police Detective Jason Sunday was investigating a rape case that occurred in the city,” Edwards said. “He interviewed Martinez as a suspect. Martinez denied any involvement in that particular case and agreed to provide a DNA sample.”
The DNA sample was sent to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab.
“When the code was entered into the database, it matched the one from our sexual-assault kit,” Edwards said. “We then issued a rape warrant for his arrest.”
Authorities faced another hurdle trying to locate the suspect.
“We had no idea where he was because he was a migrant worker and an illegal resident,” said Edwards.
Because illegal aliens use various names, Edwards explained, the sheriff’s office received hundreds of hits on people named Maurilio Martinez. However, none of the fingerprints or mug shots matched.
Two months ago, the sheriff’s office learned that a man named Maurilio Martinez had been arrested in Casselberry, Fla., just outside of Orlando, on traffic violations.
“We checked the pictures of him and the fingerprints, and everything matched up,” Edwards said.
After Florida authorities were notified of the situation, an extradition hearing was held for Martinez. However, the suspect refused extradition.
“As a result, we had to get a governor’s warrant from Gov. Sonny Perdue, who then sent it to the governor of Florida (Charlie Crist). The governor allowed the transfer and Martinez arrived here in Lowndes County on Monday.”
Edwards said the sheriff’s office is relieved to have finally apprehended the suspect in this case.
“We would like to thank everyone who assisted in this investigation, especially Valdosta Police Detective Jason Sunday,” she said. “Because he did his job, we solved a murder.”
Joy Morris shared one son, Jason, 31, with her husband. She helped raise her stepdaughter, Kathy, as well.
“She was also the best grandmother to my daughter, Lacy, who was 16 when Joy passed,” Kathy said.
The Morris family still resides in Madisonville, Ky.
Woody Morris said that he retired the truck escort business a few years after his wife’s death. He has, since, remarried.
The family said that they will continue to work with authorities in the investigation of Joy Morris’ death. In fact, Woody Morris mentioned plans to meet with Edwards in the next few days.
“Hopefully, we can move forward and find peace now,” Kathy said. “We can’t forget that it happened. But maybe we can now remember her without that weight on us. Maybe we can smile more.”
