By: Biridiana Lopez-Rodriguez
Staff Writer
Mary Scott was a 24 year-old mother and was a resident in San Diego. She worked two jobs, these two jobs being a cocktail waitress and a go-go dancer at a club that was called ‘Star’. She had worked there for around a year, and she was called ‘Lucky’. At the age of 17 she got married, but then ended up separating from her husband who was a navy sailor from Louisiana. It was difficult for her to find childcare so she left her two daughters with her husband’s family. And at around 2:15 am she was seen taking a cab home from the club to Grand Floor City Heights apartment. And at 2:30 am a man was seen smashing and kicking at her door full force. He then forcefully entered and brutally attacked her. She desperately tried to fend him off, and she began to scream as well. Her neighbors heard her screams but didn’t investigate.
When Mary didn’t show up to work the following evening, a co-worker went to check up on her. But when she got to Mary’s apartment, she found the apartment in complete disarray. She saw that the chain had been torn from the door frame, furniture was overturned and an ashtray was smashed. She soon saw Mary’s lifeless disrobed body lying on the living room floor with a nightgown beside her. She quickly called authorities and evidence was collected from the crime scene. All the leads they had soon were exhausted and the case went cold for over five decades.
Authorities reopened the case around the 50th anniversary of Mary’s passing. The case was reopened because a 67 year-old Rosaline Sand’s suggested to a law enforcement friend to re-look at her case. After using advanced DNA technology, it was discovered that the attacker had left behind his DNA. Using not only evidence but forensic genealogy through searching publicly available DNA databases, family trees were soon created so they can put a name on the DNA. It was soon identified that the man responsible for taking Mary’s life was 75 year-old John Sipes. John Sipes was arrested in Pennsylvania October 24, 2020 at his house. As of now he remains in jail at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh county and is awaiting extradition to San Diego county to face trial.