Phoenix, Maricopa County authorities team up to make arrest in 1987 cold case homicide
Detectives with the Phoenix Police Department and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office made an arrest in a 1987 cold case homicide Tuesday, the department announced in a June 3rd news release.
The homicide happened Feb. 21, 1987.
Marilyn Johns, 41, was found near 100 East Buchanan Street in Phoenix. Police say she was beaten, sexually assaulted and set on fire by her attacker.
She was taken to the Maricopa County Hospital and was treated for 3rd-degree burns covering more than 85% of her body. She died on March 5, 1987.
"The detectives originally assigned, worked the case extensively, but the case eventually went cold. Additional work was done to advance the case and in 2019, detectives from the Phoenix Police Department Cold Case Homicide Unit began working with detectives from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office," the department said.
Additional information and evidence led detectives to the arrest of Darron Joseph Miniefield, 52. He was 20 at the time of the homicide.
He is now facing first-degree murder.
No further information is available.