Marina was described as a quiet 'non-hippie' and aspired to have a career in the arts. She was well-adjusted, and well-liked by her friends. Deeply loved by her parents. She was a freshman at the University of Hawaii.

Marina was home from university, visiting friends and family in the Los Angeles area. On the night she went missing, she was to go out to a musical show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood with some friends. She drove to her friend John Hornburgs home in Brentwood around 4:30 p.m., after which they would meet up with several other friends for the show. Afterward, they returned to Hornburg's home, where she was last seen around 3 a.m. when she departed for home. Marina returned to her mother's home in West Hollywood, arriving around 3:30 a.m., as reported by her mother, who witnessed her daughter's vehicle in the driveway but did not see her. She reported seeing an unknown black sedan parked next to her daughter's car, and a man yelling "go" or "blow" as the unknown car drove away.

Marina was found off of Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon in the Hollywood Hills, within the brush. Marina was discovered in the clothing she was last seen in and had been stabbed six times. An autopsy, conducted by coroner Thomas Noguchi, determined her cause of death as exsanguination and found no evidence of rape. The victim's throat was cut, stab wounds to the chest, two black eyes, and apparent blunt force trauma on her body.

In 1969, Los Angeles residents lived in fear. The Tate/LaBianca murders had swept not only the city but the country. The Manson family was coming to the surface, terrorizing residents. There are racial injustices between the police and the Black Panther Party, leading to 400 arrests of party members, children included. In 1968, when the East LA walkouts took place, students, most of them Mexican Americans, walked out of class to demand better educational opportunities and facilities. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel. On a national level, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN.

The case is currently unsolved and remains cold. There may be pieces of physical evidence still available, that could provide information if tested with the current forensic technologies.

-Researched by TJ, Uncovered Community Member