HOUSTON – Two women with the same name were killed (completely by chance) days apart. Nearly 25 years later, their murders remain unsolved.

RELATING TO: Who killed Mary Morris? Two unrelated women with the same name were killed within days of each other in Houston

It was October 2000 when Mary Lou Morris was found dead inside a burned-out car on a rural road north of Baytown. Days later, another Mary Morris was found dead inside a vehicle in Northwest Houston.

Mary Lou Morris

Mary Lou Morris did not show up for her longtime job as a credit analyst at a bank near the Katy Freeway in West Houston.

“My mother couldn’t go to work that day,” Morris’ daughter Marilyn Blalock recalls. “When I came to his house. I remember there was a police officer there when I stopped the car.”

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Blalock and his stepfather decided to drive Morris to and from work in hopes of finding his car. Hours passed and there was no sign of Morris or his car.

“I don’t see his car stopped on the side of the road or any signs of an accident,” Blalock recalled.

Blalock called hospitals to see if a woman with her mother’s description had been checked in. There are no clues. Even more concerned, Blalock received a call from his father saying authorities had found a burned-out car near Crosby-Lynchburg and I-10, not far from Mary’s mother’s home.

Immediately, Blalock and his stepfather set out for the area.

“I wanted to drive because I wanted to get to this place as quickly as possible,” he said.

Confused, Blalock remembers his stepfather directing him to a specific location, 2600 West Cedar Bayou Lynchburg Road, not the Crosby Lynchburg area his father had given him on the phone.

Blalock said he couldn’t see the burned car, but a sheriff’s deputy at the scene confirmed there was a burned car at that location. Blalock said the deputy instructed them to return home.

“They came knocking on the door 15 minutes later,” he said. “That’s when they told us that my mother’s car was where we were and her body was inside the car. I just remember losing it. I just cried and screamed because I think I was in complete shock.

Paralyzed with pain, Blalock has too many questions and too few answers. Minutes turned into hours, hours into days. Blalock was watching the news and heard her mother’s name mentioned during a newscast. It caught your attention.

“It was as if the news crew had messed this up. “It’s like they got all the details wrong,” he explained.

Time was a blur as Blalock prepared to say his final goodbye to his mother.

“When my mother was buried, the only thing that mattered to me was that she was buried with her jewelry,” he recalled. “The funeral home didn’t want to put my mother in the casket. They wanted him to stay in the body bag. This was so scary. So I was the only person who saw my mother in her coffin. “When they opened the coffin, I didn’t see her jewelry anywhere.”

After calling the coroner’s office, Blalock was even more surprised when she was told the jewelry would be taken with the body.

“I said no, my mother’s body has already been taken. I just need to find out where your jewelry is and how to get it. And they said, “No, Mary Morris is still here.” “I just remember him putting me on hold for what seemed like forever,” Blalock shouted. “She finally got back on the phone, and that’s when I learned there was another Mary Morris at the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office.”

Blalock eventually received his mother’s jewelry; most of it was burned in a bag. The one piece that wasn’t destroyed: a heart pendant. Blalock had the piece of jewelry refurbished.

“I actually wear this a lot,” she said.

More than 20 years later, it is a symbol of love from a person who values ​​and nurtures life. From family to hobbies, Morris loved cars. In fact, she was one of the first female wrecker drivers in Houston and competed in demolition derbies. Morris also loved animals, especially horses.

“It’s very sad because she was a good woman. “She was a good wife.” explained Blalock. “I want to know why. I also really want to know how he died. I want to know that my mother is not in pain. She was a good mother and taught me to take care of your family, take care of your children, and talk tough. The woman she was made me who I am.

Morris was 48 years old when he was found dead on October 12, 2000.

Murder of Mary McGinnis Morris

Another Mary Morris was murdered and found dead in her car a day later on October 15, 2000, on Houston’s Northwest side.

“She meant so much to so many people,” explained Mary McGinnis Morris’ daughter, Katy Morris. “I think she was an incredible mother. She was a wonderful daughter and sister, a wonderful friend, a wonderful wife. He was a beloved member of our community, our church community, our theater community. “He was also a healthcare professional.”

The only child reflects his mother’s life. Mary McGinnis Morris was attacked, shot and killed in her car when she was 39 years old. Katy is now 39 years old and a mother of her own.

“She reminds me a lot of my mother, especially now that I have children of my own.” explained Katy.

Katy was 15 when her mother was killed.

“I was a sophomore in high school and it was fall, so things were very busy.” I remembered Katy.

The Morris Family moved from West Virginia to Texas for Mary’s job; Mary accepted a job as medical director for a Houston-based chemical company.

“Houston has opened many doors.” explained Katy.

It was Sunday, Mary was going to the office, Katy and her father were going to the cinema.

“We went to the movie, came home, but he wasn’t home. He should have been at home anyway. The dog was still in its kennel,” explained Katy.

Katy said when they got home it was clear something was wrong. Katy’s father reached out to the friend Mary was with that day.

“And he hadn’t seen her since earlier in the day. But he remembered that my mother had called him and told him that she had seen someone while she was running errands, and that it had scared him. He felt like this coworker he had problems with earlier in the week was a friend or acquaintance.” I remembered Katy.

Shortly after this, Katy said her mother called 911. The recording of that call was never released, but Katy says it captured her mother’s final moments.

“I had the opportunity to listen. And the last memory I have of my mother is her screaming.” explained Katy.

When asked who attacked and killed her mother, Katy said that she did not believe that her father killed her mother.

“I don’t believe my father had anything to do with this. I don’t think their relationship is perfect, but I think they are two people who are willing to work to make this relationship better. I just want peace for my father. While he lost his best friend, lost his partner, lost his 15-year-old daughter from her family.” “I can’t even imagine what she was going through while having to raise her alone on the other side of the country.” explained Katy, “My hope is that both of these cases can be solved. Marilyn and I can find some peace. Not only for ourselves as the daughters of these women, but also for our other families. (Do you believe that Marilyn’s mother, also Mary Morris, was murdered by someone who thought they killed your mother?) It’s definitely a little suspicious to me that this would happen. “These two women were killed very close to each other with the same name.”

Both Mary Morris’ murders remain unsolved. If you have information that could help resolve either situation, contact us. Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Is there a case you want, Zach Lashway and Solvable team to review? Email us at [email protected].