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On May 5, 1943, the body of 19-year-old Martha Ontiveros was found dumped off Crystal Springs Road about three miles west of San Mateo. Her body was found by a soldier who quickly called the police.
A photo in the deceased woman’s purse showed a young man standing beside a car. The license plate was clearly visible and quickly led the police to the woman’s 20-year-old estranged husband, Frank Ontiveros, who was living on Spruce Street in Redwood City. They had married in Reno the previous November but had been living apart for approximately three months at the time of Martha’s murder.
The investigation was swift, and it was soon discovered that Martha had been strangled to death. There were marks on the body that seemed to indicate her body had been dragged from a car, and one knee bore a pattern that matched the pattern of a rubber mat in the trunk of Frank’s car. Martha’s body was bent in a position that seemed to indicate that it had spent a significant amount of time in a small space, like the trunk of a car.
Frank told the police that he had seen Martha the day before the murder, and they had discussed divorce or an annulment of their marriage. Indeed, Martha had spoken with a lawyer about divorce, and when questioned, that lawyer said that the file regarding Martha’s potential divorce case had mysteriously vanished from her office. Equally puzzling, when approached, none of Martha’s family would sign the formal murder complaint against Frank, so the sheriff had to do it.
Frank also stated that he had thoroughly cleaned his car the morning the body had been found. He told the authorities that he had left Martha in the late afternoon, as she had told him she had a date with another man that evening.
In the court of public opinion, many people thought that Frank was guilty, and so they were surprised by the June 3 headline in The Times: “Ontiveros Ordered Set Free!”
Justice of the Peace Hugh F. Mullin Jr. had freed Frank when Assistant District Attorney Louis Dematteis said there was “not sufficient evidence to reasonably assure that a jury would convict him. The case is closed as far as we are concerned. The evidence was not sufficient. Everything was circumstantial.” Naturally, the defense attorney agreed: “No complaint ever should have been filed against him.”
Many were unhappy with the action, including Sheriff James McGrath, who told the press: “I did not ask for a dismissal, but it is not up to me to pass on evidence. The investigation will continue.”
Frank went on to marry again, although not without consequences. In 1947 he was charged with failure to provide for his wife and two children. He was later acquitted.
Martha’s murder was never solved.
