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Solved case · 1977
Also known as Mary Quigley's murder · Mary Quigley's killing
MaryQuigley plaqueCredit: Cloudswrest·CC BY-SA 3.0·Source
The short answer
Mary Quigley, a 17-year-old Santa Clara High School senior, was raped and strangled after leaving a party in September 1977. The case remained unsolved for nearly 30 years until DNA collected under California's Proposition 69 identified Richard Archibeque, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2009.
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Suggest coverage for Murder of Mary QuigleyThe case file
Mary Elizabeth Quigley (born February 28, 1960) was a senior at Santa Clara High School in Santa Clara, California. On the night of Friday, September 9, 1977, she attended a back-to-school beer party at a house near the corner of Monroe and Market Streets. An acquaintance had given her a ride to the party on his motorcycle and had promised her a ride home, but he left the party and did not return before she departed. Witnesses last saw Quigley leaving the party alone and on foot at around 11:45 p.m., headed toward a friend's nearby house.
Early the following morning, a groundskeeper noticed an object from a distance resting against a fence separating some apartments from the Santa Clara High School athletic field. Around noon that day, the groundskeeper investigated further and discovered the object was the body of Mary Quigley. Her body was found nude and hanging by the neck from a chain-link fence in what was then Washington Park (now War Memorial Park), approximately 300 yards from the site of the party. Debris on her body suggested she had been dragged to the fence, and an item of her clothing had been used to fasten her there. Coroner's evidence indicated she had been raped and strangled.
No immediate suspect was identified, and the case became a cold case for nearly three decades. In 2005, Detective Sergeant Kazem resubmitted evidence from the investigation to the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory for DNA analysis. This was made possible by California's Proposition 69, which expanded the state's authority to collect and database DNA from certain offenders. On December 27, 2006, the Crime Lab informed Sergeant Kazem that a database search had identified Richard Armand Archibeque — a Santa Clara resident and former classmate of Quigley's, then age 47 — as a suspect. His DNA had entered the database following a separate conviction for the rape of another teenage girl. Archibeque was arrested by detectives later that same day.
Archibeque was convicted of first-degree murder in San Jose, California, on March 2, 2009, and was sentenced to seven years to life in prison.
The crime scene has remained largely unchanged, though the fence panel involved was removed and replaced with a small plaque. Quigley's friends and classmates have lobbied the City of Santa Clara for a memorial bench and plaque at War Memorial Playground, and have sought to rename the park in her honor. The case was later featured on the Investigation Discovery program Murder Book on December 10, 2014.
7 dated entries · 1960–2014
Mary Elizabeth Quigley is born.
Quigley attends a beer party in Santa Clara and is last seen leaving alone on foot around 11:45 p.m.
A groundskeeper discovers Quigley's body hanging from a chain-link fence in Washington Park; coroner's evidence indicates she was raped and strangled.
Detective Sergeant Kazem resubmits case evidence to the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory for DNA analysis.
The Crime Lab identifies Richard Armand Archibeque as a suspect via DNA database match; Archibeque is arrested the same day.
Archibeque is convicted of first-degree murder in San Jose, California, and sentenced to seven years to life in prison.
The case is featured on the Investigation Discovery program Murder Book.
2 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
17-year-old Santa Clara High School senior raped and strangled after leaving a party on September 9, 1977.[3]
Convicted of first-degree murder on March 2, 2009, and sentenced to seven years to life in prison for the killing of Mary Quigley; identified via DNA database after a separate conviction for rape of another teenage girl.[3]
From the record
3 cited
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PressSFGateAccessed Jul 5, 2026
Pressleagle.comAccessed Jul 5, 2026
EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 5, 2026
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