Mark Merila
The man charged with killing two Mesa teenage girls in 1984 has been returned to Arizona and has pleaded not guilty.
Mark Merila, 43, was extradited from California and pleaded not guilty to the murders Friday before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon.
In Aug. 2006, a grand jury indicted Merila for first-degree murder in the deaths of 16-year-old Kelly Cooper and 14-year-old Ermalinda Ianuzzi. The indictment came 22 years after the girls’ bodies were discovered hidden under desert brush near the Arizona Canal about five miles north of Mesa.
DNA evidence taken from Cooper’s clothes and “other investigation techniques” tied the case to Merila, said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Aug. 2006. The match was made in 2005 through the nationwide DNA database.
After authorities located Merila in San Diego, he admitted to Maricopa County detectives that he was celebrating his 20th birthday on Aug. 25, 1984, in the area where the bodies were found.
“He admitted to having sex with an unknown girl. He did not confess to any murder,” Arpaio said.
Sheriff’s officials said they are still pursuing a second suspect in the case.
You know you did it! don’t lie you know you will pay for your crime! you stole the life from two young girls with their whole lives ahead of them. Who knows why you did it but you will pay either in this life or when your burn in hell!