Reyna Marroquin - Lover & Victim of Howard B. Elkins

Reyna Angélica Marroquín was born in 1941, and died at age 28 years old in 1969. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Reyna Angélica Marroquín.

Howard Burton Elkins was born to Joseph Elkins (1899-1990) and Beatrice Rand (1906-1986). He had a brother named Stuart Elkins (1932-2005). In 1940, Howard, along with his parents and brother, lived with his maternal grandparents in New York. In 1950, he was listed as living with his parents, grandparents, and his brother Stuart, who was 18 years old. By then, Howard had completed high school and was in the Armed Forces at an air base. Howard Elkins married Ruth Shapiro in Brooklyn in 1952, and they had a son and a daughter. Later, Howard became the prime suspect in the murder of Reyna Angélica Marroquín, which took place in 1969 in Nassau County, New York. Reyna's body was not found until 30 years later, in a 55-gallon drum in the basement crawl space of a house that Elkins used to own in Nassau County. The drum was traced back to a synthetic flower company called Melrose Plastics. Howard was part owner of the company. Reyna was suspected of having an affair with Howard, and it is believed that he murdered her to prevent fathering a child with her. When detectives interviewed Howard with the intention of taking his DNA to compare it to the fetus found inside Marroquín's body, he committed suicide the very next day. Post mortem DNA testing confirmed that Howard was indeed the father of the nine month old fetus. This tragic story has received significant media attention and has been featured in various television episodes, such as The New Detectives, Murder Book, NYPD Blue, Forensic Files (see The Reyna Marroquin Story Unsealed for a detailed report on the crime, the perpetrator, and the victim from Forensic Files), Grave Secrets, and Buried in the Backyard. Read the details of this story and about Howard's suicide at Suicide Adds to Mystery Of Corpse Found in Barrel and an 2005 updated article about the crime at 70-year-old man questioned in woman's death commits suicide.