MARION, Ind. – On May 12, 2003 at approximately 1:57 pm, officers of the Marion Police Department responded to 1001 South Gallatin Street, after Betty L. Payne, age 81 was found sexually assaulted and brutally murdered inside her home. An autopsy concluded that Payne’s cause of death was due to Asphyxia due to Strangulation. The crime scene was processed and DNA evidence collected and submitted to the Indiana State Police Laboratory.
In October of 2003, the Marion Police Department was contacted by the Indiana State Police Laboratory. The ISP Laboratory reported that a match was found in the DNA Database against the DNA evidence submitted by the department and a 2001 Montgomery County Ohio sexual assault case.
In December of 2015, the Marion Police Department again was contacted by the Indiana State Police Laboratory. The ISP Laboratory confirmed that a second DNA match was found in the DNA database connecting their original DNA evidence submission to a 2008 Hamilton, Ohio sexual assault case. The Marion Police Department along with the Hamilton Police Department developed a possible suspect based on the two investigations.
In October 2016, the Marion Police Department was again contacted by the Indiana State Police Laboratory. The ISP Laboratory reported that a third DNA match in the database was associated to their original DNA evidence submission and connected to a 2000 Collier County, Florida sexual assault case. Upon contacting and working with the Detective Unit in Collier County, it was further determined that Roman Cruz Urista Jr. was a suspect in their Florida case investigation.
Based on the ongoing investigations, a search warrant was issued obtained for the DNA Standard of Roman Cruz Urista Jr. Urista was located in Ohio, and the search warrant was served on Urista by Marion Police Detectives. The collected DNA Standard was submitted to the Indiana State Police Laboratory for a conformational match to their 2003 murder case.
On November 3, 2016 an arrest warrant for the murder of Betty L. Payne was issued by the Grant Circuit Court. The warrant was serviced, and Roman Cruz Urista Jr. is being held in the Hamilton County Jail in Ohio where extradition proceedings are pending.
If you have any information concerning Roman Cruz Urista Jr. please contact the Marion Police Department at 668-4417.