ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Ronald Thaisen had a new wife and his whole life in front of him when he set out to drive across the country in the summer of 1972.
The 25-year-old U.S. Marine told his family he was looking forward to leaving the military in the next few months, but he had one more assignment before his civilian life could begin. He set out in 1963 Dodge van from 29 Palms Marine Base in southern California on Aug. 21, 1972, heading for another base in North Carolina.
But Thaisen never arrived on the East Coast.
Instead, Albuquerque police found his badly beaten body in the back of the van parked along Interstate 40 near the Lomas overpass on Aug. 23, 1972. In the interim years, detectives have kept coming back to the case, even though they know Thaisen’s killers will never be brought to justice.
"He was trusting and friendly and believed things couldn't go wrong," said Karen Larson, who had been married to Thaisen for 18 months at the time of his death.
Police were able to recover a significant amount of evidence from the van including fingerprints and DNA from about 50 cigarette butts. Over the years, detectives have repeatedly run the DNA samples through local and national databases but have never gotten a match. They believe the killer or killers have never run afoul of the criminal justice system.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said he thinks the killers may have integrated back into society.
"Could be doctors, lawyers, could be anyone," Schultz said.
So, the case remains a mystery. About the only thing detectives know are a few scant details about the events leading up to the day Thaisen’s body was found.
In Arizona, near the New Mexico line, they know Thaisen picked up three hitchhikers, which, according to family members, was not unusual for him. From a pay phone at a rest stop near the state line, he called his brother-in-law and told him about the men he picked up. During that conversation, he made a cryptic statement and acted in a way that made his family suspicious.
"The relative who received the phone call knew immediately something was wrong,†Schultz said. “They believe he was trying to send a message that he needed help.â€
Three and a half hours after that phone call on Aug. 22, 1972, a witness spotted Thaisen's van along I-40 in Albuquerque. The witness reported seeing three men removing items from the van.
A day later, an Albuquerque police officer found the van in the same spot, out of gas and with the hazard lights on. Thaisen’s body was in the back.
The motive for the killing was not clear. The killers took a camera and some travelers checks, but because the items were never recovered and the checks never used, officers don't think the motive was robbery.
Larson learned of her husband’s death when a Marine appeared at her door soon after the killing.
"They said, ‘Your husband is dead,’ " Larson said.
Larson never remarried, and still has fond memories of her husband.
"We went to rugby games, we went dancing, we went skiing, we went motorcycling," she said, choking back tears. "The good times were there."
And while police haven’t let the case go, even if they found Thaisen’s killers tomorrow, nothing can be done to them. That’s because the statute of limitations for murder in 1972 was 10 years and ran out long ago.
Still, detectives continue to look. They want to close the case both for themselves and for Thaisen’s family.
"Whether something happens with these people, like I say, that's up to God and the universe," Larson said. "I forgave and forgot whoever they were."
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