Catrina Mowrey

Episode 130 Catrina Mowrey

In June, 1985, 24 year old Kansas native Catherine 'Catrina' Mowrey was planning to travel from the Dallas, Texas area where she was living, back to Kansas to visit family. She never showed up.
On June 25th, her nude body was found in the trunk of a car in an area of Dallas known for its high crime rate. Catrina's body was wrapped in a sheet, and according to some reports, she had a belt wrapped around her neck. Due to decomposition, the medical examiner was not able to determine a cause of death, and termed it undetermined. Police investigating the case quickly concluded that Catrina had died of a drug overdose, but when no drugs were found in her system, shifted gears and theorized she had taken her own life. Later, they said she may have died of natural causes, and someone close to her got rid of her body. Police explored all kinds of theories except the one that seemed the most obvious; that Catrina was a homicide victim.

Investigators tracked the car Catrina was found in to a man she was in some sort of relationship with, possibly dating. He apparently had an alibi, and according to him, he didn't realize Catrina was even missing, and assumed she had gone back to Kansas with his car to visit family as she had planned to do. In Catrina's apartment, they found Catrina's suitcase which she had apparently packed to take with her to Kansas. They also found her glasses in the apartment. Catrina who was legally blind could not see very well without them and certainly could not drive.

It was reported that Catrina was involved in low level drug dealing, and several people she associated with had criminal records. Instead of looking closely at the people in Catrina's circle, they continued to avoid investigating her death as a homicide.

For the better part of 40 years, Catrina's case sat in limbo. During that time, tragedy struck the Mowry family again when one of Catrina's sisters was murdered in an unrelated case. Heartbroken, Catrina's last surviving sister, Deborah teamed up with her daughter Catrina to dig into the case and search for the truth. The younger Catrina was named after her aunt who she never got to meet in order to honor her memory. When Deborah passed away, it was up to her daughter Catrina to solve see her Aunt Catrina's case finally resolved. She began with petitioning Dallas police to re-open the investigation into Catrina's 1985 death, and her efforts paid off. In March, 2023, the case was re-opened, and hopefully, investigators can find the truth about the death of Catrina Mowry once and for all.

In this episode, Catrina's niece; her namesake, Catrina discusses her Aunt's case, and her efforts to see it solved.

If you have any information about the murder of Catrina Mowrey you can call Sergeant Girdler at 214-671-3661 or send an email to coldcase@dallaspolice.gov

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