What happens to 2018 northern Arizona cold case after suspect identified as dead man
LITTLEFIELD, AZ (AZFamily) — There’s been a strange twist in an unsolved double murder of a northern Arizona couple.
In the fall of 2018, Jerry and Susan McFalls were found dead in a shallow grave.
Mohave County officials were trying to solve it until they got a tip years later that they said led to the true killer.
The problem is that he is dead.
So, do the McFalls murders just turn into a forever cold case?
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office announced Kenneth Snyder was responsible for their deaths but can’t be arrested because he was killed in 2023.
“I think that they would at least be happy rather than being an open cold case and we don’t know who did it, so I think there is a degree of answers for the family in that case,” said Troy Hillman, a retired cold case detective from Phoenix.
Hillman said the suspect identification is the best justice that can come of this situation at this point.
McFalls’ son and his wife shared that exact sentiment with a statement.
“2,250 days we struggled through this mess of searching for answers. They finally came. No more waiting, no more persecutions, no more lies no more wasting valuable resources, no more trials, and no more wondering what happened.”
The McFalls family mystery began in January 2018, when Jerry and Susan were reported missing after no one had heard from them for over a week.
Investigators found their belongings inside their home but no signs of them.
Nine months later, in October, deputies and detectives found the remains of two people in a shallow grave in the desert near the Virgin River gorge in northwest Arizona.
Days later, Susan was identified as one of them by comparing medical records with a device she had. But it wouldn’t be until 2020 that Jerry was finally identified through DNA.
Their family searched for leads, but nothing came to fruition until a witness came forward years later claiming Snyder killed the couple after getting into an argument with them.
The witness only came forward, though, because Snyder was dead, killed in a domestic violence situation, according to police.
The witness told police Snyder had threatened to kill them if they went to law enforcement about what they knew.
So, what do authorities do with a case like this?
“They can either just close it out or send it over to the county attorney for official review,” Hillman said.
That’s what Mohave County did, which led to some finality for law enforcement agencies.
“My agency, the larger ones in the state, we had a policy where if it was sent over to the county attorney and turned down saying that they would have charged it, then we would what’s called ‘X clear it,’ meaning the case is closed at this point,” said Hillman.
Mohave County detectives said they were able to corroborate the witness’ story by finding the car they believe Snyder transported the bodies in.
Detectives said it tested positive for areas of blood, but it was too degraded to officially match to Jerry and Susan.
It was still enough for the agency to confidently say Snyder killed the couple.
With sadness in their hearts, it’s also a way forward. The family sent us a statement.
“It’s definitely a bittersweet ending. We definitely could not have stayed as strong without all of your support. Finally, we can close this chapter and move onto the next in our lives.”
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