Copyright Coeur d'Alene Press
For two decades, locals wondered what happened to Ron and Rita Marcussen. Did Ron, 22, murder his 20-year-old wife and flee? Did acquaintance George “Ed” Stroisch of Post Falls kill the couple and take their car? Did a devil-worshipping cult from Rathdrum abduct and sacrifice them? According to court testimony, the Marcussens were last seen alive in the Hayden area Nov. 19, 1973 — Ron with Stroisch at a bar and Rita at work at a dental clinic. Less than a year later, two hunters found Rita’s skull in the woods southwest of Farragut State Park. The discovery led to a massive search that recovered Rita’s purse, shoes, hair fibers, tattered clothes — and a thigh bone that authorities believed belonged to her husband. But Ron stayed missing until Oct. 25, 1995, when property owner John Erwin found a skull in a wooded area, 1.5 miles from the previous location of Rita’s remains. A dental forensics expert quickly identified the skull as Ron Marcussen’s. The skull had two small-caliber bullet holes in it — and two slugs inside. The new evidence proved that Ron Marcussen hadn’t killed his wife and run off, as the defense maintained during Stroisch’s 1976 trial for the murder of Rita Marcussen. The two bullets also revealed that Ron hadn’t murdered his wife and then committed suicide. “If we had that evidence 22 years ago, it would have made a dramatic difference,” 1st District Judge Gary Haman, the former prosecutor, told The Press after the recovery of Ron’s skull. “Of course, I would have prosecuted Stroisch for both murders.” According to The Press, Ron’s whereabouts were a key issue during the 18-day trial that began June 11, 1976. Stroisch’s defense produced three dozen witnesses, including a few who testified that they’d seen Rita’s husband after the couple disappeared. On the prosecution side, a jailhouse witness testified that Stroisch had bragged about shooting Ron Marcussen and strangling Rita as she tried to escape. Another witness said he saw Stroisch towing the Marcussens’ yellow 1973 Toyota hours after their disappearance. The jury deliberated for six hours before acquitting Stroisch. He wouldn’t be prosecuted again. No new charges were filed against him in 1995, despite the compelling new evidence found in the woods of northern Kootenai County. A new trial would have been difficult to prosecute, costly and pointless. Stroisch, 58, had died two months before the discovery of Ron Marcussen’s remains. Wabash cannonball? Yes, Virginia, a train once ran on downtown Coeur d’Alene streets to haul lumber from Potlatch’s Rutledge Mill on the east end of town. And there was a reason for the odd situation that startled motorists who turned in front of the locomotive. The tracks were there before the streets, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press of Oct. 27, 1975. Each afternoon, a Burlington Northern crew of five or six left Spokane to serve North Idaho mills. At about 4 p.m., the train slowed to a crawl, about 6 mph, as it reached Coeur d’Alene. The train passed within touching distance of a restaurant. And was brushed by residential trees as it chugged eastward. Conductors were careful not to hit aggressive drivers or children who put pennies on the tracks. They stopped at stop signs — and one was known to pause to buy cookies from Girl Scouts. In 1975, rear brakeman Gene Sponcler told The Press why he enjoyed the Coeur d'Alene run: “One of the biggest things about the job is waving to the kids.” Still standing You may know that the old Methodist Church at Seventh and Wallace has served various congregations since Feb. 26, 1909. And that the late actress Patty Duke portrayed Pastor Hannah Miller, with the church as a backdrop, for the abbreviated 1995 NBC TV series, “Amazing Grace.” But did you know that a fire damaged the church Oct. 25, 2000? Rev. Cheryl Rogers and two friends were eating lunch inside the redubbed Science of Mind Center of Light Church when they heard banging on an outside door. The sanctuary was filled with smoke by the time she checked out the commotion. Twenty minutes later, according to The Press, flames were licking at the belfry windows, 30 feet above the entrance. The fire claimed a quarter of the church. But Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel’s crew saved the rest. One of the firefighters was a volunteer with the Hayden Lake Fire District: Michael Pearce. In real life, he was the husband of Anna Pearce, better known as Patty Duke. Huckleberries • Poet’s Corner: Some vampires now prowling,/it seems fair to note,/care less for your blood/than they do for your vote — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Very Scary Creatures.)” • Name Game: The sculpted eagle that soars above the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, 3818 Schreiber Ave., was named ROCCI (pronounced “Rawshee”) by a fifth grader. Dedicated on Oct. 23, 2000, artist David Clemons’s eagle has an acronym for a name. Sorensen student Casey Fehrnstrom won the contest to name the eagle by submitting ROCCI, which means: “Respect Our City Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.” • Death Row: Thomas Creech, a death row inmate who has escaped execution for 50 years, once bragged that he had killed 42 people. But police believe he has murdered “only” nine. The tally includes two men who picked him up hitchhiking in 1974 near Donnelly. At 25, Creech was convicted of those killings Oct. 22, 1975, after a change of venue to Wallace. He is now Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate. • Freeway Link: Imagine Kootenai County without an I-90 link between Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls. The 5.8-mile stretch is so heavily used now that work is underway to expand the two lanes going in each direction. The first motorists drove on the new section Oct. 22, 1970, after Gov. Don Samuelson and local VIPs dedicated it. Parting shot Seattle’s Mighty Mariners didn’t get to the World Series. But the grandson of Mrs. Afton Evans did. On Oct. 15, 1975, Grandma Evans of Coeur d’Alene was glued to her TV set as right fielder Dwight Evans singled and tripled to lead Boston to a 5-4 Game 4 victory over Cincinnati. Then, her family surprised its matriarch with a trip to Boston’s Fenway Park. She didn’t like that teammates called her grandson, “Dewey,” nor that she couldn’t talk to him before the games. But she loved that Dwight took her to dinner after each game. Dwight saved Game 6 for the Red Sox with a spectacular catch in the 11th inning. But Cincinnati won the series four games to three. During his career with Boston (1972-90), Dwight appeared in more games than all other Red Sox players, except Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Dwight was a three-time all-star and won eight Gold Gloves for fielding. Not bad for a star whose biggest fan was his Idaho grandmother. • • •
