Ted Green

But people who knew Mary Kay wondered why she got in the car with the two men.

Working that theory, investigators in 1969 questioned males in town, especially ones who could have crossed paths with Mary Kay.

They used what was then a brand new crime-solving tool, polygraphs.

One of the people polygraphed and questioned a few days after the murder was this man, Joseph Ambrose, 22 years old at the time.

Ambrose had been seen weeks before the murder talking to Mary Kay around town.

They both frequented this restaurant, the Wigwam Cafe, which still stands today.

Ambrose stood out as he was new to town.

Investigators learned he was on parole after having been convicted of forgery and escaping from custody.

Ambrose served about three years and then moved to Wahoo.

Authorities say they learned that Ambrose was known to mingle with high school girls and had a reputation for having a temper.

He also drove the type of car, similar to this one, that someone said they saw near the crime scene.

Ambrose denied any involvement in the murder, and his polygraph seemed to support that.

Ambrose said he had an alibi, that the night of the murder, he was hanging out at various locations with his friend, Wayne Greaser, who was also questioned and polygraphed.

But while being questioned, Ambrose did speak about things, says Ted Green, that got him in trouble with the law, and he was immediately sent to jail.

But not for Mary Kay's murder.

Why did this case not move along further at the time?

Follow-up in the initial investigation, prosecutors say, seemed to be lacking, with inexperience a factor.

Cars were not checked for blood, and suspect's shoe sizes were not compared to the shoe prints found at the scene.

For decades, the case sat cold.

Then, 30 years later, in 1999, with the creation of the Nebraska State Patrol Cold Case Unit, Mary Kay's murder was getting attention again.