Marvin Irvin

Marvin Lee Irvin (born May 4, 1949) is an American serial killer and former police officer who murdered two women in St. Joseph, Missouri, in September and October 1990, and after his arrest confessed to an additional 1979 murder, which up to that point he had been the prime suspect in for years. For all three crimes, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Early life Marvin Lee Irvin was born on May 4, 1949, in St. Joseph. His family rented a three-story home, and they were friendly to neighbors, who recalled Irvin as a quiet but polite boy. Irvin graduated from Highland High School, Highland, KS, and in 1970 joined the St. Joseph Police Department as an officer, but resigned within months. In April 1974 Irvin was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in Kansas, whom he had allegedly abducted outside a drug store in St. Joseph. He was arrested, but the charge was dropped after the girl refused to testify. Irvin met up with another young girl named Ruth West in 1974, and the two sparked a relationship, and at age 15, West delivered Irvin's baby. West would later describe their relationship as abusive, claiming Irvin was emotionally manipulative. In 1988, a television reporter named Therman Mitchell received a letter addressed to him. The letter contained details about where Micki's body was, and the writer inviting Mitchell to show him where Micki's body was. Instead of meeting up with the anonymous sender, Mitchell aired a news story on the letter, pleading for the sender to come forward. That same year, Irvin and another woman moved to Ames, Iowa, where Irvin got a job as a railroad worker. There, on March 30, Janet Huegerich filed a police report because Irvin had shot over her head multiple times. A month later, on October 29, 33-year-old Crystal Lynn Simmons also disappeared, last seen at downtown bar. During the investigation, investigators received a tip, saying that Simmons was last seen with a man named Marvin Lee Irvin, and to inspect his truck as evidence. An autopsy on both declared their cause of death as multiple blows to the head.

Confessions While in jail awaiting charges, Irvin denied killing anybody. His brother openly believed this, accusing officials of setting-up Marvin, saying, "They want a guy for a lot of cases, I feel like the whole thing is kind of a set up." Another search attempt was made on October 11, but the search team was unable to find her body. As of 2022, West's body has yet to be found.

Media Before Irvin's arrest, the case surrounding his first victim Micki Jo West was featured on season 1 episode 13 of the documentary television show Unsolved Mysteries. An updated episode after Irvin's arrest and conviction was featured in Season 4 episode 21.