Man who killed 16-year-old stepdaughter accused of fatally stabbing Idaho woman in 1980 cold case

ADA COUNTY, Idaho (TCN) -- A cold case has recently come to a close after investigators identified a primary suspect in the death of a woman whose remains were found near an irrigation ditch nearly 44 years ago.

According to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, on June 26, 1980, a highway crew discovered a deceased woman, later identified as Mary Tracy, with apparent stab wounds to the neck and chest. She reportedly had dried blood on her head, as well as a small piece of newspaper stuck to her face.

An autopsy later revealed Tracy sustained 11 stab wounds on the left side of her body, including three defensive wounds, indicating Tracy "fought for her life." She also purportedly had signs of blunt force trauma to the back of her head, and investigators believe her body was moved after her death.

No one had seen or heard from the victim since the night of June 24, 1980. Tracy allegedly left her two daughters with a friend at a motel following an argument with her husband. The sheriff’s office said there were allegations of financial issues and marital stress between Tracy and her spouse. However, the victim’s husband was in the hospital when Tracy was found, and officials didn’t identify him as a suspect.

Witnesses heard rumors of someone who had been killed at the Sunliner Motel, but the business denied any knowledge of it. A maid allegedly told investigators she found blood in a motel room, but officials were unable to find substantial evidence. Despite investigators’ efforts to identify a suspect, the case went cold.

According to the sheriff’s office, authorities reopened the investigation in August 2023, reexamined evidence, conducted follow-up interviews, and submitted DNA evidence to the Idaho State Police Forensic Lab. Among the items collected, deputies said the newspaper stuck to Tracy’s temple was from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and had been printed more than decade before the victim’s remains were found. In the newspaper, investigators reportedly noticed an article about Richard Speck, a man convicted of killing eight nursing students by stabbing them in the neck area.

According to the sheriff’s office, investigators also learned that officials had interviewed a jail informant who claimed a man named Charles Strain stated, "I just killed a girl, and I threw her over a ditch." However, the jail informant died 30 years ago, so investigators couldn’t interview him again.

Deputies said Strain had a lengthy criminal history across multiple states. In 1981, he reportedly kidnapped his 10-year-old noncustodial daughter from her mother and fled to Arizona, where they remained for 2 1/2 years. He allegedly told people the mother died in a vehicle crash, and they lived under aliases.

In 1986, Strain was arrested and convicted of killing his stepdaughter, 16-year-old Deeana Dean, who died of a gunshot wound to the head and was found partially clothed. She had been missing for five years before his arrest. Strain died of a heart attack while in custody of the Utah prison system in 2007.

Deputies said they obtained a sample of Strain’s DNA and submitted it for further testing. As a result, authorities reportedly received a report in June indicating that Strain "was a probable contributor to the male DNA taken from Mary’s body."

On Oct. 4, the sheriff’s office announced that they closed the case, and "though Mary’s case is now solved, we are still hoping to find some answers." Deputies said they suspect Tracy was killed at the Sunliner Motel, and they are working to find one of the victim’s friends, "known only as Lisa, who may have been one of the last people to see her alive."

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