Overview of The Deck — "Margaret Reimann (Queen of Spades, California)"
This episode of The Deck (host Ashley Flowers) examines the 1986 murder of 73‑year‑old Margaret (surname appears in records as Ryman / Reimann) in Camarillo, Ventura County, California. Found dead in her detached garage the morning she planned to go to Mass, Margaret’s killing happened amid an acrimonious, decades‑long family legal fight over a multi‑million‑dollar tomato‑field inheritance. Suspicions initially centered on cousin Barbara and her husband Paul Kennerly; the case went cold for decades. Renewed cold‑case work in 2024–2025 produced a male Y‑STR DNA profile from material under Margaret’s fingernails, and investigators are now re‑testing and door‑knocking living male relatives and associates to identify a match.
Key facts & timeline
- Date of murder: early morning, November 2, 1986 (estimated ~6:00 a.m., just before Margaret would have left for 6:30 a.m. Mass).
- Location: Margaret’s detached one‑car garage on her ranch property in Camarillo, CA.
- Discovery: Family noticed Margaret missing that evening; a padlock on the garage door led a renter (Wayne Hoffman) to peer inside and find her body. Deputies confirmed death at the scene.
- Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head and a fatal neck cut; wounds described as unusually brutal and possibly personal.
- Property left mostly to church; marginal bequests to some relatives (e.g., $1 to Barbara in Margaret’s will).
Crime scene & evidence
- Body found on passenger side of Margaret’s 1965 Mustang; purse, jewelry, and donation checks left untouched — robbery unlikely.
- Garage was padlocked from outside; a padlock and drumstick used commonly by Margaret to secure doors were noted.
- A handwritten message ("take that") on the inside of a garage door was suspected by some family to be a threat but later reportedly traced to an earlier unrelated incident (witnesses said it was written prior).
- Investigators took fingernail clippings in 1986. Initial testing (including 2005) returned no clear foreign profile; forensic re‑examination in 2024 produced a usable DNA profile. A Y‑STR (male‑line) profile was obtained late 2024 / Dec 2024 for paternal‑line comparisons.
Family background & motive
- Longstanding inheritance dispute over a 22.5‑acre tomato field originally tied to earlier generations of the Ryman/Geisler family.
- After a series of trustee changes and decades of litigation, Margaret became trustee of the estate in Feb 1986. Barbara and her husband Paul had previously acted as trustees and litigated heavily; their relationship with other family members (Pat, Trudy, etc.) was bitter.
- Barbara and Paul moved a mobile home onto the tomato field property in the 1970s/1980s, increasing tensions with Pat and Trudy.
- The legal battle escalated after Margaret took over; Paul and Barbara filed numerous motions and were viewed by many family members as motivated by money and entitlement.
- After Margaret’s death, court battles over the estate continued for years; eventual settlement (1997) divided proceeds among the sisters, but legal fees greatly inflated the estate’s loss/gain.
Suspects, leads & investigative history
- Early suspicion fell heavily on Barbara and Paul Kennerly due to motive, prior trustee role, and their noncooperation with police (they invoked counsel and refused interviews / polygraphs). Paul died in 2015.
- Rumors circulated about a hired hitman; anonymous letters accusing Barbara were sent in the 1980s (author unknown). The letters were not conclusively connected to the killer.
- Other possible leads: ranch tenants/workers, neighbors, developers (the property later was developed into high‑value residential land). No clear evidence tied any of these to the crime initially.
- Case went cold after 1988 due to lack of prosecutable evidence; limited follow‑up until Detective Gerardo Cruz reopened the file in 2022 while working on similar cold cases.
Modern forensic developments (2024–2025)
- Ventura County cold‑case forensic scientist Kristen Kanko re‑examined evidence and developed a male DNA profile from material under Margaret’s fingernails (September 2024).
- A Y‑STR profile suitable for one‑to‑one paternal‑line comparisons was generated and sent to a private lab (Dec 2024).
- Detective Cruz has been collecting Y‑STR samples from living male relatives and others presumed within the paternal lines of potential suspects. Early results:
- Paul Kennerly’s DNA was on file (ME), but legal/custodial issues complicated direct comparison.
- One nephew tested was adopted (excluded by paternal line).
- Another nephew (“Andrew”) volunteered a sample and was excluded — indicating the Y‑STR under the victim’s nails does not match that Kennerly paternal line.
- Cruz is expanding testing to all living males linked to the case (family, tenants, ranchhands, neighbors), and is seeking grant funding to run broader testing and private‑lab surface DNA extraction (padlock, drumstick, garage doors, anonymous letters) to locate either the killer’s profile or someone with relevant information.
- Cruz also requested comparison between this Y‑STR profile and a sample tied to a nearby unsolved homicide (Florence Hackney, 1989) where a small male saliva/Y‑profile exists; results were pending at the time of reporting.
Current status & next steps
- Case remains active and workable, per Detective Cruz — DNA evidence gives investigators a tangible lead where none existed before.
- Investigators are:
- Continuing door‑to‑door collection of male Y‑STR samples from living family members, tenants, ranch hands, and neighbors.
- Exploring advanced private‑lab techniques to recover more DNA from physical evidence (padlock, garage door, letters, drumstick).
- Comparing the new profile to other cold cases where feasible.
- Barbara Kennerly (now elderly) has not spoken with police since 1986; Cruz plans to re‑approach her to see if she will cooperate now.
Notable quotes
- Detective Gerardo Cruz: “I believe that male profile is the killer. Whoever’s underneath that fingernail, that’s the killer.”
- On brutality indicating motive: “The more brutal it is, the more personal it is… as opposed to a random attack.”
Main takeaways
- Margaret’s murder appears planned and targeted (attacker knew her routine and vehicle); scene suggests a fast, violent attack and deliberate delay of discovery (locked garage).
- Family inheritance and trustee disputes provided a strong motive and public suspicion focused on Barbara and Paul Kennerly — but modern Y‑STR testing has begun to exclude lines associated with Paul, and no definitive match to any tested male has been found yet.
- New DNA evidence (male Y‑STR profile from under victim’s fingernails) has revitalized the investigation and enabled targeted paternal‑line testing that was not previously possible.
- The investigation is ongoing; authorities are seeking help from anyone with information.
How to help / contact
- Detective Gerardo Cruz, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office — (805) 384‑4726
- Email: coldcase@ventura.org
- Ventura County Crime Stoppers — 1‑800‑222‑8477 or VenturaCountyCrimestoppers.org (anonymous tips accepted)
If you have information about Margaret’s 1986 murder, contact the numbers above.