AUSTIN, TEX. — All but solving the mystery of the 1995 disappearance of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, federal authorities confirmed on Thursday that bones dug up from a ranch in January are those of the atheist leader and two family members.
Forensic scientists used medical and dental records to identify the remains of O'Hair, 76, her son Jon Garth Murray, 40, and Robin Murray O'Hair, 30, her granddaughter.
A stainless-steel artificial hip that was pulled from the ground was among the evidence used to identify the elder O'Hair, who had hip replacement surgery in 1988.
"This certainly gives us some closure," Roderick Beverly, agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio office.
The family disappeared from San Antonio in 1995 along with $500,000 in gold coins. Investigators think they were kidnapped, rob-bed and killed, and their bodies were cut up and dumped on a ranch near Camp Wood, about 125 miles from San Antonio.
Of four suspects thought to have taken part in the plot, one is dead, allegedly at the hand of his partners, and three have been convicted of various charges, including extortion.
None has been convicted of kidnapping, and no murder charges have been filed.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.