Our Grandfather was Murdered: Jack Nilo Gonzalez Marriot

True Crime Candle Time

This is the story about our grandfather’s short life & murder. 

EARLY ADULT LIFE

His name was Jack Nilo Gonzalez Marriot, born in Sept 1937 in St. Elena, Ecuador. We don’t know much about his childhood, but he immigrated to the US in August 1957 when he was 19 years old. He arrived in Miami by plane and soon after ended up in Alabama. 

I believe he gained entrance to the US by joining the Army and was on active duty by October 1957, serving until 1961. Sometime soon after, he was living in Connecticut and met my grandmother, Jan. They were neighbors, and by 1965 Jan and Jack had our biological father, Brett.

ULTIMATUM 

The 1960’s was a different world. When the pregnancy happened, Jan’s mom said that Jack needs to marry Jan otherwise they would file statutory rape charges. Jan was 17 and Jack was 30. With this ultimatum, Jack indicated he was going to the store but didn’t return and they never spoke again. 

Within a few years, he relocated across the country to Los Angeles and married Patricia Valverde in February 1971. He was 33 and she was 20 (I see a pattern here and don't like it). I believe they had at least one child together during their 5 years of marriage (assuming they were still married at the time of his death). He worked as a machinist in Culver City and they lived in Santa Monica.

THE MURDER

Jack was into fixing up and selling cars. Sometime in the summer of 1976, he met with two men to sell them a 1965 yellow corvette. He didn’t come home and family reported him missing on June 10. Jack’s partially decomposed body was identified by dental records and found 9 days later rolled in a carpet in a backyard at 401 E. Gage Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Jack was 37 at the time of his death and spent almost 20 yrs in the US before he was murdered.  

It turns out the men stole the car, robbed and shot him multiple times. Unfortunately, that is all the information I could find but we are working on getting in touch with distant family members and the Los Angeles Police Department, where his body was found. We will post updates regarding this matter in the future (if possible).

If you have any suggestions on how to find out information about what happened after his murder, please contact us through our website or email us at hello@weirdwaxco.com. A portion of all candle sales go to charities that support the victims we talk about.