The Newport Beach Police Department announced Monday that it has solved the 1980 murder of a 42-year-old Irvine woman using “genetic genealogy” and new forensic methods. According to police, the man identified as responsible for the murder of Judith “Judy” Nesbitt died in 1999.
Police said in a Monday statement that Kenneth Elwin Marks killed Nesbitt on Nov. 26, 1980 while she was showing her family’s boat, the Felicidad IV, to Marks, who she believed to be a potential buyer. Marks followed Judy into the sleeping quarters of the boat and attacked her. “After a violent struggle, Marks shot Judy and stole her credit cards, checkbook and cash from her purse before fleeing the scene,” said the police.
Police at the time failed to identify Marks as the suspect in Nesbitt’s murder, but hairs from an unknown suspect were kept as evidence.
A limited DNA profile was extracted from the hair in 2002 and entered into the FBI’s “CODIS” system. There was no match to the other entries in the database.
According to police, “In 2018, through the incredible work of Green Laboratories, LLC, a more expanded DNA profile was able to be extracted from the remaining hair shafts. This was the first DNA extraction of its kind to identify a murderer in a criminal investigation in the United States. Investigators then used genetic genealogy techniques – and the assistance of genetic genealogist CeCe Moore – to identify Kenneth Marks as the killer in this case.”
Police said generations of officers remembered and worked on the Nesbitt case.
“This is a case that has hung heavy in the hearts of our community, our department, and the Nesbitt family,” said Newport Beach Police Chief Jon T. Lewis.
“Kenneth Marks has passed away, but he no longer gets to hold the secret of his deeds. Through incredible advances in technology and the tireless dedication of these investigators, we now have some closure for all who knew and loved Judy Nesbitt.”