A Saunders County judge approved a man’s no contest plea on Thursday for a lesser charge in a reopened cold-case murder.
At the Thursday hearing, Joseph Ambroz, 79, pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Ambroz’s sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 27. In the meantime, he will remain in jail without bond.
A grand jury indicted Ambroz on a first-degree murder charge last November, connected to the killing of 17-year-old Mary Kay Heese of Wahoo. At the time of the indictment, he was living in Oklahoma and was extradited to Nebraska.
Heese’s parents reported her missing on March 25, 1969 when she didn’t come home that evening. Early the next morning, her body was found in a ditch with multiple stab wounds.
Many of Heese’s living family members attended the hearing. They said they’re struggling to accept the plea deal.
“It makes it look like they threw this whole case out just like they threw the trash out,” said Martin Miller, one of Heese’s cousins. “Just like he put her in the ditch and left her like trash.”
Kathy Tull, another of Heese’s cousins, said Ambroz’s medical issues likely led his defense team toward a plea deal. At the hearing, Ambroz was connected to an oxygen tank and used headphones to hear the proceedings.
“He didn’t want to die in prison,” Tull said.
Tull said she felt defeated when she heard the judge accept the plea. She and Miller do not believe Ambroz will receive the maximum two-year sentence.
“He’ll get to have his family, he’ll get to have Christmas,” Miller said. “He’ll get to do these things where we’ve been without. We can take flowers to the cemetery, but… 56 Christmases without Mary Kay. Without her having a family.”
Tull, Miller and other family members said state prosecutors did not consult them about the plea deal.
While no arrests were made for more than 50 years, early court documents show Ambroz was interviewed by police at least four times between 1969 and 2021. He took at least three polygraph lie detector tests–which have been deemed unreliable by psychology professionals and typically inadmissible in court. Ambroz passed two in 1969 and showed signs of deception on one taken in 1999.
In 2009, the case was reopened.
Heese’s body was exhumed last year, prior to the indictment. According to court briefs, DNA obtained from Heese has been tested multiple times, showing two unique DNA profiles. Hair from an unidentified female was also found on Heese’s coat. Ambroz’s DNA was not present, and the motion to dismiss his indictment referenced the DNA results.
November’s indictment came after the grand jury heard from a “key witness,” according to a defense brief. The witness claimed they knew Ambroz killed Heese because a third party told the witness he was with Ambroz at the murder. Prosecutors said Ambroz’s ex-wife also testified under immunity. In the days after the murder, she told police she was with Ambroz during Heese’s murder.
Grand jury proceedings are uncommon for typical charging decisions in Nebraska. The accused cannot present evidence or rebuttal to the state’s claims.