Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘Murder on the Menu’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Betrayed’ delves deep into the murder of 17-year-old Mary Jayne Jones in Ottumwa, Iowa, where she had moved just a few months prior. The gruesome crime took place in April 1974, but it wasn’t solved until several decades later, in 2012, when the detectives identified the perpetrator through genetic evidence found at the crime scene. Featuring interviews with Jayne’s sisters and officials involved in the investigation, the documentary covers all the intricate details of the case.
Mary Jayne Jones Was Found Dead in a Farmhouse, Miles Away From Ottumwa
Mary Jayne Jones was born on September 10, 1956, in Arkansas, where she was raised by her mother and stepfather, Frank Cabanillas, alongside her younger sister, Judith, and older sister, Jacque. The three sisters shared a close-knit bond and were each other’s best friends. Although Jayne was a free-spirited girl, she was close to her family. Her hobbies included music and dancing. Her friendly and compassionate nature made her the life of the party no matter where she went. When Jacque got married and relocated to Ottumwa, Iowa, Jayne also followed her sister and moved there from Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973.
While there, Jayne landed a job at Henry’s Drive-In as a server and moved into an apartment, where she lived with a roommate named Jenny Parks. Not long after, she began dating Art, the diner’s product distributor who resided in Des Moines, about 85 miles away from Ottumwa. As their relationship intensified, Art gave her a promise ring, telling her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. With a lot to look forward to, 17-year-old Jayne headed out to the bank on April 9, 1974, to deposit a check in the name of her landowner for rent.
Unfortunately, she never returned to her apartment. Instead, her remains were discovered at a farmhouse in Blakesburg, Iowa, by its owners. They immediately called the police, who arrived at the scene and discovered Jayne, with two gunshot wounds — one to the head and one to the chest. Upon inspecting the remains, they found no signs of any cuts, bruises, or broken fingernails. However, the detectives found a gun at the crime scene. The autopsy revealed that she had died of two gunshot wounds and was sexually assaulted postmortem. Thus, a homicide investigation was immediately launched to get to the bottom of the case.
Mary Jayne Jones’ Killer Evaded Justice For Multiple Decades
The first course of action that the detectives took during the investigation was to talk to the homeowners who found Mary Jayne Jones’ remains. They were the parents of Max Marlin, who was one of Jayne’s acquaintances. Since he was in California at the time, Max was eliminated as the suspect. Next, they interviewed Jayne’s boyfriend, Art, who told the detectives that she had visited him in Des Moines, Iowa, the weekend prior to her demise. The investigators also learned that Jayne had allegedly been involved with another man named Ron Nichols, a vacuum cleaner salesman, something that caused friction between Art and Jayne.
On April 12, the detectives interviewed Ron, who was seen looking for Jayne at Henry’s Drive-In on the fateful day around 11:30 am. Given his unconvincing statements and alibi, he was asked to take a lie detector test. Although he failed the first test, he passed the second one, after which he was allowed to go. According to the documentary, Ron also told the authorities to look into Jayne’s roommate, Jenny Parks, who then led them to Max’s cousin, Robert Eugene “Gene” Pilcher. He was self-employed and dealt with pest control at the time. What made him suspicious in the eyes of the detectives was that he was accused of luring a woman to Max’s farmhouse a few days earlier. When he provided them with an alibi and incriminated his cousin, they began digging deeper into Max, but to no avail.
For several decades, the case of Mary Jayne Jones’ death remained cold. In 2010, a cold-case unit took over the case and began reanalyzing the evidence. When they found genetic material on the bedspread where the remains were found, DNA profiles of three individuals were developed. Upon further testing, it yielded a match for Gene. Finally, on November 13, 2012, the suspect was arrested at a Des Moines motel and charged with first-degree murder. Although he didn’t confess to his crimes, the investigators theorized that Gene had an obsession with Jayne, whom he took to Max’s farmhouse at gunpoint before killing her there.
Robert Eugene “Gene” Pilcher Passed Away a Few Years After His Release
On January 16, 2014, Robert Eugene “Gene” Pilcher stood trial for the murder of Mary Jayne Jones. Since the jury failed to reach a verdict after a week of deliberations, a mistrial was declared on January 30. The second trial began a few months later, in September. Midway through the trial, Gene pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. In exchange, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Following the sentencing, Jayne’s sister, Judith Cabanillas, stated, “We wish Iowa had the death penalty, that would have been good enough, that what he did to my sister would be done to him.”
Judith added, “He’s a bad person. I know he’s committed other crimes; I’ve seen his record. I don’t think he stopped after he killed my sister. He just got smarter. I have no pity. I hope he never comes out of there. I was very close to Jayne. This affected my whole life, what he did to her. For 38 years he was free, doing nothing but drugs and crimes. But he’s going to prison, and it’s on record that he murdered my sweet, 17-year-old sister in the brutal way that he did. He’s guilty.” According to reports, Robert Eugene “Gene” Pilcher was behind bars till 2017, after which he was out on parole. A few years later, the 78-year-old killer reportedly passed away on October 10, 2024, while seemingly residing in Iowa.
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