Detective sank his teeth into hard cases

He even got an early start as a child, witnessing his first autopsy as a fifth-grader while patrolling with his father, a former Tucson police officer and Pima County sheriff's detective.

"I always knew I wanted to investigate cases with homicides," he said.

More than 40 years later, Marmion has lived his boyhood dream and is passing his knowledge on to a new generation of police officers.

Marmion, 65, retired from the Pima County Public Defender's Office Sept. 1, after working with various police departments in Southern Arizona for 41 years.

He is best known for his detective work with the Tucson Police Department, where he investigated numerous high-profile murder cases in the 1970s and 1980s.

Marmion has received many awards and commendations because of those investigations, but he never was concerned about the glory, he said.

"I've always been one to do the job the best that I could," he said. "My biggest personal satisfaction is the support I received from the community."

Marmion spent the most years with the Tucson Police Department, where he started as an officer in 1967 and finished as a detective in 1990.

He had worked as a criminal investigator specialist for the Public Defender's Office since September 2007 and held the same position for the Pima County Attorney's Office in the early 1990s.

In addition, Marmion served as constable of Pima County Justice Precinct 4, chief of the Nogales Police Department and as a sergeant in the South Tucson Police Department.

As a detective, Marmion developed a reputation as a friendly yet tenacious investigator who would not give up on a case — even if it took years to solve.

"He's a very intelligent guy, just a real hard worker," said Rick Unklesbay, a prosecutor for the Pima County Attorney's Office. "The thing that stands out the most is what a positive person he was. He was always in a good mood."

Unklesbay worked with Marmion on one of his more notable cases, the Leslie Raymond Goodrich murder.

Goodrich was killed during a robbery and his body was thrown into a canyon in the Catalina mountains in 1977.

His skeletal remains were found by a hiker 12 years later.

A few months after the remains were found, Marmion traveled to Texas to arrest Goodrich's killer, Fred Lonzo Hutts.

"I didn't know anything about the case until the skeletal remains were found," Unklesbay said. "Vic called me up and said, 'I know who this is.' "

Hutts received a life sentence for the murder.

Marmion had to overcome some obstacles in his career, including getting fired in a dispute with Nogales' mayor while he was chief of the Nogales Police Department in 2001.

Marmion's drive and tenacity influenced many police officers and detectives he worked with throughout his career.

"He had a persona as someone to look up to," said Detective Benjamin Jimenez, who works in the Tucson Police Department's narcotics unit.

Jimenez began working as a homicide detective in 1989 and worked a few cases with Marmion.

"When I finally got a chance to work with him, it was really exciting," Jimenez said. "He's probably the reason I strived to be a homicide detective."

marmion files

Victor Z. Marmion solved numerous high-profile murder cases throughout his 41-year career, which included 23 years with the Tucson Police Department.

Here are three of his more notable cases:

• The Leslie Raymond Goodrich murder

Goodrich, an employee at an adult bookstore, was kidnapped and killed during a robbery in 1977.

His body was dumped into a canyon in the Catalina mountains, and his skeletal remains were found 12 years later by a hiker.

Shortly after the discovery, Marmion traveled to Texas to arrest Fred Lonzo Hutts, who was charged in the murder.

• The slaying of "My Sister Sam" actress Rebecca Schaeffer

The 21-year-old actress was shot to death in 1989 by Tucson resident Robert John Bardo as she answered the door at her Los Angeles apartment.

Marmion's investigative work earned him a letter of commendation from Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark, who later was a prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case.

"She tried to convince me to stay in LA," Marmion said.

• The downtown killing of a legal secretary

Legal secretary Karen Tweedy was shot to death in 1975 by 16-year-old Frank James Valencia in a Downtown parking garage.

Marmion said this was one of his most high-profile cases at the time.

"We were getting calls from judges and prosecutors because everyone was scared Downtown," he said.