The Unsolved Murder Of Margaret Yosser, 1994

I came across this case because I was writing a short piece about the very suspicious disappearance of Mary Rico-Webber in 1992. Ms Rico-Webber and retired school teacher Margaret Yosser knew each other. They had both worked at Mission Elementary School in Oceanside.

Ms Yosser went to Ralph’s store on Oceanside Boulevard at 7.30 pm on 15th February 1994. Her car was later found in the parking lot.

This is where Ralph’s used to be back on that day. It is actually where the blue marker is and is called something else these days.

On 13th September her remains were discovered by mountain bikers in a rural tract near Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad. That is about a 15 minute drive from where she was last seen. Incidentally it is reported that Ms Rico-Webber had been to the same Ralph’s store on the day she disappeared.

Ms Yosser was 66 years old when she was killed and she left a family who tried to discover what had happened to her. The vehicle had no clues in or around it that could help.

Ms Yosser was due to collect her grand daughter from dance class the evening she went missing.

In looking for sources regarding this murder I came upon news that an Oceanside man was arrested in February 2022. The alleged crime? He stabbed a woman to death in 1994. This was a woman known to him and he killed her in her home so maybe there are more differences than similarities. On thing that did ring a bell was the age of the victim. Dolores Rabaya was 54 years old when she died, the man accused of killing her would have been only 32 at the time. So I had a look and Ms Rabaya lived very close to both Ms Yosser and Ms Rico-Webber.

The red marker is where Ralph’s store was located. Ms Rico-Webber lived where the blue line ends. Both Ms Rabaya and Ms Yosser lived in streets close to there.

Jesus “Jesse” Velazquez Ayala was extradited from Mexico to face the charge and of course he may well be innocent.

For now Ms Yosser, and indeed Ms Rico-Webber, are only brief mentions, I am sorry about that. I’m always a bit dismayed when there are only fragments of unsolved murders still left on the web. If more comes up I will let you know. There is just so little about these two women on the internet now.

The crimes remind me a bit of a spate that the Australians had years ago. A series of murders rocked Melbourne in the 1980s. Several were older women. The victims tended to disappear while using the public transport system. Many were found abandoned in a rural area. Then there was the case I highlighted recently.

A 27 year old neighbour had a fixation with older women. He gained access to 74 year old Jean Roddam’s home in Cornwall, UK. He made sexual advances to this widow who rejected him. He strangled her and left her in an adjacent field. That is obviously a case that was solved. I wrote about it to highlight a strange compulsion he had and also the laughably light sentence he got.

The Oceanside victims were not as old as some of the Australian ones, nor as old as Mrs Roddam. I guess I am saying out there are many awful creatures who don’t just act on cash needs. They can become obsessed with pretty much anything. We need to know how bad they can be and what may drive them in order to protect those we love.

Cheers

Tim

Please note we have taken out direct links to outside sources after some serious issues with Google. Please copy and paste if you want to follow sources etc.

https://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=26010

https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/cold-case-arrest-suspect-jailed-in-brutal-1994-slaying-of-oceanside-woman/