Reyna Marroquín, a pregnant Salvadoran immigrant, was murdered in early 1969; her mummified remains were not discovered until 1999 inside a barrel in a Long Island home once owned by businessman Howard B. Elkins, who died by suicide days after being questioned by police.
Reyna Marroquín, the murder victim — Credit: Public domain
Reyna Angélica Marroquín was a 27-year-old immigrant from El Salvador living in the New York area, where she worked as a nanny and was also employed at Melrose Plastics, a Manhattan-based artificial flower company. She disappeared around January 1969 while pregnant. Her disappearance went unresolved for three decades.
On September 2, 1999, workers found a 55-gallon drum in the crawl space of a house in Jericho, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. Inside was the mummified body of a pregnant Hispanic woman in her late 20s, standing between 4'9" and 5'0", with distinctive dental work. Medical examination determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Along with the remains, the drum contained polystyrene pellets, two rings (one inscribed "M.H.R."), a locket inscribed "To Patrice Love Uncle Phil," green dye, an artificial plant stem, and a partially preserved address book.
Investigators traced the drum's manufacturing markings to a 1965 shipment intended for transporting dye to Melrose Plastics, a company partly owned by Howard B. Elkins, who had previously owned the Jericho house where the drum was found. Elkins sold the company in 1972 and relocated to Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife.
Using infrared light, investigators recovered a legible Social Security number from the address book, which belonged to Marroquín. A phone number in the book led detectives to Kathy Andrade, a friend of Marroquín's, who told police that Marroquín had been having an extramarital affair with Elkins. Andrade said Marroquín had grown afraid of Elkins after disclosing the affair and her pregnancy to his wife, Ruth. Andrade recounted going to Marroquín's New Jersey apartment and finding it empty, with no further contact from her afterward. Employees at Melrose Plastics reportedly recalled a woman matching Marroquín's description appearing with a toddler, with coworkers joking that Elkins was the child's father.
When detectives interviewed Elkins in September 1999, he was uncooperative. After being told police intended to obtain his DNA for comparison with that of the fetus found with Marroquín's remains, Elkins purchased a shotgun at Walmart and, on September 10, 1999, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the back seat of a car at a friend's home in Boca Raton, Florida. Subsequent DNA testing confirmed Elkins was the father of the fetus.
Investigators believe Elkins killed Marroquín either at her apartment or at the factory, then transported her body to the Jericho house, possibly intending to dispose of it at sea using his boat, but left the filled and weighted drum in the crawl space after finding it too heavy to move. The case has since been the subject of several television treatments, and Marroquín's elderly mother in El Salvador described to a journalist having dreamed of her daughter trapped inside a barrel.
Approximate date of Marroquín's murder, while pregnant, in the New York area.
1999-09-02
A 55-gallon drum containing mummified remains is discovered in the crawl space of a former home of Howard B. Elkins in Jericho, New York.
1999-09
Investigators identify the remains as Reyna Marroquín using a Social Security number recovered from an address book found in the drum.
1999-09-10
Howard B. Elkins is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the back seat of a car at a friend's home in Boca Raton, Florida, following police questioning.
2000-04-25
An episode of NYPD Blue, "Roll Out the Barrel," based on the case, airs.
2004
The case is featured in "Broken Trust," an episode of The New Detectives.
2015
The investigation is covered in "Flower Drum Murder," an episode of Murder Book.
2017-11-14
The case is dramatized in "Beneath the Stairs," an episode of Grave Secrets on Investigation Discovery.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Criminally Listed / 17 min
Reyna Marroquín | Into the Killing Podcast Ep 18
People
Reyna Angélica Marroquín
VICTIM
27-year-old Salvadoran immigrant, nanny and factory worker, murdered while pregnant in 1969; her remains were found in 1999.
Howard B. Elkins
CHARGED
Identified by investigators as the prime suspect in Marroquín's murder; died by suicide after police questioning before formal charges could be pursued. DNA testing confirmed he was the father of Marroquín's fetus.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Reyna Marroquín, a pregnant Salvadoran immigrant, was murdered in early 1969; her mummified remains were not discovered until 1999 inside a barrel in a Long Island home once owned by businessman Howard B. Elkins, who died by suicide days after being questioned by police.
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