Who Is David Allen Snyder? Florida Keys Cold Case Double Murder

David Allen Snyder has been identified by Florida authorities as the suspect in the 1973 murders of teenage sisters Marguerite “Maggie” Jenkins and Mary Jenkins in the Florida Keys. Maggie, 18, and Mary, 16, traveled from New Jersey to Key West for a vacation and were last seen hitchhiking on Stock Island on May 2, 1973. Their bodies were discovered the following day in a wooded area near U.S. 1 in Key Largo. More than 53 years later, investigators used preserved DNA evidence and forensic genetic genealogy to identify Snyder. Authorities say Snyder lived in Key West at the time of the killings. He died in Idaho in 2008 and therefore will never face prosecution.

Maggie And Mary Jenkins Travel To Florida

Maggie And Mary Jenkins Traveled To The Florida Keys In April 1973. Marguerite “Maggie” Jenkins, 18, and her 16-year-old sister Mary traveled from New Jersey to Key West for a vacation. [FDLE] [People]

The Sisters Were Last Seen Hitchhiking On Stock Island. Investigators say Maggie and Mary were last seen alive on May 2, 1973. [FDLE]

Bodies Found In Key Largo

The Sisters Were Found Dead The Following Day. On May 3, 1973, a resident discovered their bodies in a wooded area approximately 100 yards from U.S. 1 near Mile Marker 99.5 in Key Largo. [FDLE] [Local 10]

Both Sisters Had Been Severely Beaten. Investigators also said Maggie and Mary suffered apparent gunshot wounds. [FDLE]

Murder Investigation Goes Cold

Investigators Could Not Identify A Suspect In 1973. The original investigation failed to produce a viable suspect, leaving the double homicide unsolved for decades. [FDLE]

The Jenkins Family Spent Decades Without An Answer. Sarah Jenkins Barlow, Maggie and Mary’s older sister, was 19 when they were killed and said she never expected the case would eventually be solved. [Local 10] [People]

Family Traveled To Florida After Murders

Sarah Jenkins Barlow Traveled To Florida After Her Sisters Were Killed. She told Local 10 that she came to the Keys with her mother and the man who later became her husband. [Local 10]

The Family Stayed For Approximately A Month. Barlow said they conducted their own efforts to find information while law enforcement continued investigating. [Local 10]

DNA Evidence From Crime Scene

Investigators Reexamined DNA Evidence In 2018. FDLE forensic scientists developed additional markers from a partial male DNA profile obtained from a bloodstain found on the underwear of one of the victims. [FDLE]

The DNA Profile Was Added To The National CODIS Database. Investigators updated the Combined DNA Index System profile in an effort to identify the unknown male. [FDLE]

CODIS Did Not Produce A Match. The case remained unresolved despite the improved DNA profile. [FDLE]

Genetic Genealogy Investigation

FDLE Accepted The Case For Genetic Genealogy Work In 2023. The department’s Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Program began applying newer DNA and genealogical techniques to the evidence. [FDLE]

FDLE Worked With Othram To Develop An SNP DNA Profile. Othram helped produce a single nucleotide polymorphism profile suitable for forensic genetic genealogy. [FDLE] [Othram]

The Profile Was Submitted To Genetic Genealogy Databases. FDLE investigators then conducted genealogical research and built family trees to identify possible relatives of the person who left the DNA. [FDLE]

David Allen Snyder Emerges As Suspect

Genealogy Research Led Investigators To David Allen Snyder. FDLE says its family-tree research identified Snyder as a possible suspect. [FDLE]

Investigators Determined Snyder Had Lived In Key West Around The Time Of The Murders. Authorities linked him to several residences in Key West between 1972 and 1974. [FDLE]

That Put Snyder In The Area When Maggie And Mary Were Killed In May 1973. The geographic connection supplemented the DNA and genealogical evidence developed by investigators. [FDLE]

Relative’s DNA Confirms Snyder

Investigators Obtained DNA From One Of Snyder’s Relatives In 2026. The sample was sent to the FDLE crime laboratory for comparison with the evidence from the murder investigation. [FDLE]

FDLE Says The Testing Confirmed Snyder As The Suspect. The laboratory comparison confirmed Snyder’s connection to the male DNA profile recovered from the crime-scene evidence, according to authorities. [FDLE]

Authorities Publicly Identified Snyder On September 2, 2026. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office announced that Snyder had been identified as the suspect in both killings. [FDLE]

Investigators Tell The Jenkins Family

Three Investigators Personally Delivered The News To Sarah Jenkins Barlow. She said investigators came to her home and carefully explained how DNA and genealogy had produced the identification. [Local 10]

Barlow Said She Initially Did Not Believe The Case Had Finally Been Solved. She had lived with the mystery for 53 years and said she had stopped expecting investigators to identify anyone. [Local 10] [People]

Investigators Explained That Blood Recovered From The Crime Scene Had Led To Snyder. Barlow said authorities walked her through the DNA testing and genealogy work used to identify him. [Local 10]

Remembering Maggie Jenkins

Barlow Described Maggie As Strong And Adventurous. She said her younger sister had a daring personality and loved horses. [Local 10] [People]

Maggie Dreamed Of Having A Horse Ranch. Barlow said horses were one of Maggie’s strongest interests before her death. [Local 10]

Remembering Mary Jenkins

Barlow Described Mary As Sweet And Innocent. She said Mary had a notably gentle personality. [Local 10]

Mary Was Remembered For Her Singing Voice. Barlow said her sister had an excellent singing voice. [People]

David Allen Snyder Died In 2008

Snyder Died Before Investigators Identified Him. Authorities determined that Snyder died in Idaho on October 28, 2008. [FDLE] [Local 10]

Snyder Was 57 Years Old. Local 10 reported that he died of natural causes in Mountain View, Idaho. [Local 10]

Snyder Never Faced Charges In The Jenkins Murders. His death occurred approximately 18 years before investigators publicly identified him.

Family Gets Answers But No Trial

Snyder’s Death Means The Case Cannot Result In A Criminal Trial. Barlow said she has had to accept that the man authorities identified will never face prosecution. [Local 10]

Barlow Said The Identification Was Still A Shock After More Than Five Decades. She said she had not expected investigators to solve the murders even during the early months after they happened, much less 53 years later. [Local 10]

Cold Case Solved After 53 Years

Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay Credited Detectives And FDLE For Continuing To Work The Case. Ramsay said the identification demonstrates the importance of long-term cooperation between agencies in cold-case investigations. [FDLE]

FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass Cited Advances In Forensic Technology. Glass said the department remains committed to using new technology to find answers for victims and their families regardless of how old a case is. [FDLE]

Case Status

Florida Authorities Identify David Allen Snyder As The Suspect In Both Murders. The conclusion is based on preserved DNA evidence, forensic genetic genealogy, family-tree research, DNA obtained from a relative and evidence establishing that Snyder lived in Key West at the time. [FDLE]

Snyder Cannot Be Arrested Or Prosecuted Because He Died In 2008. There will therefore be no criminal trial testing the evidence against him.

The Identification Gives The Jenkins Family An Answer More Than 53 Years After The Murders. Sarah Jenkins Barlow has said she wants Maggie and Mary remembered not simply as murder victims but for the lives and personalities they had before they were killed. [Local 10] [People]