Maryland

After More Than 30 Years, Remains Found in Maryland Woods Identified as Ex-Marine

Prince George's County police have identified a man whose skeletal remains were found in a wooded area of Beltsville, Maryland, more than 30 years ago. 

A man and his son found the remains while they were out for a walk in the area of Baltimore Avenue in October 1984. Investigators worked tirelessly to identify the victim, but until recently, the man remained nameless. 

On Wednesday, police announced they now know the victim's name: Bennett Louis. 

The 27-year-old ex-Marine was identified at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, with the help of advanced fingerprint technology.

"Well, we were shocked, actually, to receive a notification that they made an identification off of a 1984 case," Prince George's County Homicide Detective Barnard Nelson said.

Louis, who was honorably discharged from the Marines, was originally from New Roads, Louisiana. He was last seen in 1983 boarding a bus in Berkeley, California, for North Carolina, where he lived in Jacksonville.

Louis was shot multiple times and left in a wooded area on the 12000 block of Baltimore Avenue. Police believe his body remained there for as long as three months before it was found.

"We had skeletal remains, however, there was evidence to indicate he was shot multiple times because of his clothing having bullet holes and also he had a bullet hole in his scull," Nelson said.

Investigators do not know why Louis was in Maryland at the time of his death. 

"For a good two weeks, I cried every day and wondering why and how someone could have [killed him]," Louis' daughter Monica Davis told News4 in a FaceTime interview.

Despite the decades that have passed since Louis' death, police are still looking for information that can help them find his killer.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call 301-772-4925.

Police are offering a reward of as much as $25,000.

"We know that some one out there had some contact with him prior to him being murdered and it's very important that we hear from that person," Nelson said.

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