Arrest in Murder Case from 30-Years Ago

[starkrial]

Detectives Make an Arrest in Murder Case from 30-Years Ago
By Tiffany Griffith @ June 23, 2009 3:00 PM Permalink | Comments (0)
A Clay County family has finally lift the lid off of a deadly, decades-old secret.
Detectives aren't calling it a "cold case," they're calling it an old case. According to Sheriff Rick Beseler, Benjamin Parker (appox. age - 34-years-old), was murdered on the property of his family's mobile home in a rural area of Clay County off of Montana Trail in Keystone Heights. But his family didn't report the crime until 2006, according to officials.
Besler says Parker's relatives live in a rural part of Clay County where if no one is looking for you, a crime like this could go unknown and unreported for a long period of time.
But, once detectives were alerted, they focussed on the victim's son-in-law, Kenneth Murwin, who is now 53-years-old. Investigators have been processing evidence for the past three years, and now believe they have enough information to prosecute Murwin for the crime.
Beseler says what also makes this case unique and unusual is, in most cases, they have a body, but no suspect. In this case, they have a suspect, but no body. Parker's body was reportedly buried in the backyard of the Montana Trail property, but an extensive search has yet to find Parker's remains. A state attorney, who also attended the news conference says not having the body will be a challenge, but they have enough evidence to go on.
Murwin is now in the Clay County Jail. Investigators say, after the murder, he moved to Arkansas, where he has a wife and children. In 1992, he was convicted on two counts of sexually abusing children. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but he was released and off of parole by 2002. In September of that year, he moved back to Clay County. He worked as a land surveyor for about five years, but has been unemployed since 2007.
Beseler says the family members claimed they witnessed the crime, but only came forward after the family matriarch died. The Sheriff says, at this time, he's not interested in directing charges at the family for not reporting the murder.