With his charm, ample finances, and fame, the 57-year-old man quickly caught the eye of a 25-year-old woman.
Following the death of the former film star James Joseph Ferrara, potential suspects were systematically ruled out. With no other leads, the case remained at a standstill until a man revealed a secret he had kept hidden for over 20 years.
The Charming man
James Joseph Ferrara (also known as Jimmie Ferrara) was born in 1920 in New York, USA. After a brief stint in the Coast Guard, James decided to try his hand at acting.
In 1942, James was cast as Clanton in the film “Tombstone, The Town Too Tough To Die” and caught his big break. Over the next two decades, he appeared in several other films.
With his handsome and charismatic appearance as a movie star, James garnered many admirers and went through several marriages.
By the 1960s, James’ acting career began to decline. At this time, he invested in real estate, frequently traveling between Los Angeles and Yuma, Arizona. During a visit to Reno, Nevada, in 1977, James met a beautiful 25-year-old woman named Delma Lee Collier.
Delma grew up in the small town of Hawthorne, Nevada. She married at a young age, with three stepchildren from a previous marriage. Delma then helped her husband raise and care for these children.
However, Delma’s marriage gradually became unhappy. She was frequently verbally and physically abused by her husband. When she could no longer bear it, Delma left.
Despite Delma being 25 years old when she met James, who was already 57, the 32-year age difference didn’t deter them. From then on, love quickly developed.
Unhappy Marriage
Unlike other men in Delma’s life, James was distinguished, financially well-off, and belonged to the Hollywood elite. Delma followed James back to Yuma, and they married in 1981.
However, their marriage did not last long. The two frequently clashed, and eventually, they divorced in 1984.
But then, they reconciled just a year later. To celebrate this, they embarked on a two-month-long road trip. They returned to Yuma on September 28, 1985.
However, in the early hours of September 30, the police received a call from a man claiming to be James’ neighbor. He reported finding James dead in his home.
Upon arrival at the scene, the police found the back door slightly ajar. James, 65 years old, lay on the floor between the kitchen and the living room with a pool of blood surrounding his head and chest. James was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
There were no signs of forced entry or burglary in the house. Four .22 caliber shell casings were found on the floor. There were no other clues at the scene.
The police noted the nature of the crime resembled an execution-style killing. Nothing was taken from the house, including James’ money in his pockets. These indicated that the murder had been premeditated.
Those who knew James described him as a kind and helpful man, always smiling and approachable. His sudden death shocked most people.
Despite thorough searches of the crime scene and the surrounding area, the police couldn’t find any leads. The case also lacked witnesses. Some acquaintances believed that James’ shady business partners might have been behind this murder.
The Womanizer
According to the statement of the neighbor who found James’s body, he was with James that morning. Around 11 PM, James’s wife – Delma Lee Collier, called him to come over because she couldn’t reach her husband. When the neighbor entered the house, he was shocked to find James lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor.
At that time, Delma was at James’s granddaughter’s house, Pamela Denman, a few kilometers away. When the police notified her of the murder, she became frantic. Delma mentioned that earlier that morning, a woman named Sally Cook had visited her husband. Sally was younger than Delma and had been supported by James in acting classes. There were rumors that Sally had a relationship with James.
According to Delma, James had multiple relationships with other women during their time together. She said she had become accustomed to it but admitted that after Sally left, they had a conflict that led to an argument.
Delma mentioned that after the argument, she went out for a walk to clear her mind. That evening, she saw Sally’s car at her house, which angered her and go to her granddaughter’s house.
Over 20 Years of Deadlock
During police questioning, Delma denied killing her husband and claimed not to know who had a motive for the crime. Delma then underwent a lie detector test, but the results were inconclusive. Investigators examined Delma’s clothes for bloodstains and gun residue, but they were all clean. Authorities had to release her.
Sally was also questioned later and denied having a romantic relationship with James. Sally stated that on the evening James was murdered, he drove her to her boyfriend’s house, and the three of them had dinner together. Both Sally and her boyfriend passed lie detector tests and were cleared.
Despite thorough searches of the crime scene and the surrounding area, the police couldn’t find any leads related to James’s death. The case also lacked witnesses. Some acquaintances believed that James’s shady business partners might have been behind this murder. But it was all speculation. Authorities then systematically eliminated James’s business partners from the list of suspects because they all had alibis or no motive for murder.
Because potential suspects were ruled out, and there were no other leads, the case remained at a standstill for over 20 years.
In January 2006, the Yuma Police Department received an unexpected call from a man who revealed a secret he had kept hidden for over 20 years. He recounted that his grandson had confessed to being responsible for James’s death. His name was Rick Kosterow.
Secret for more than 2 Decades
Because potential suspects in the death of James Joseph Ferrara had all been ruled out, and there were no other leads, the case remained at a standstill for over 20 years.
In January 2006, the Yuma Police Department received an unexpected call from a man who revealed a secret he had kept hidden for over 20 years. He recounted that his grandson had confessed to being responsible for James’s death. His name was Rick Kosterow. At the time of the murder, Rick was a Marine stationed nearby.
For two decades, the man had kept the secret for his grandson, but he decided to inform the police after they had a falling out.
Witnesses stated that Rick and a colleague named Donald White visited their home in California shortly after the murder. While drinking, Rick recounted how they had killed a movie star. That person was James. According to Rick, Donald was the one who shot James at Rick’s behest.
Later on, Donald left the Marine Corps and became a commercial pilot. Meanwhile, Rick lived in Washington and worked for his family’s bakery business.
In May 2006, the police questioned Donald, who was now 41 years old. Donald stated that in 1985, Rick introduced him to Delma Lee Collier – James’s wife. Delma was Rick’s lover.
In conversations with the two men, Delma suggested giving Donald and Rick $25,000 each to kill her husband. Donald mentioned that Rick told him Delma was severely abused by her husband, and getting rid of him would be beneficial for everyone.
On the night of the murder, Donald and Rick broke into the house when James was out. When he returned, Donald shot and killed James. However, despite killing James, Delma did not fulfill her promise of payment. From then on, Donald never saw her again.
The Truth Revealed
During questioning, Rick, now 47 years old, admitted to having an affair with Delma but was vague about James’s murder. It wasn’t until he learned that Donald had confessed everything that Rick admitted to being present at the time of the shooting. Donald and Rick were detained on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
After James’s death, Delma remarried and moved to Fallon, Nevada. This woman was arrested on May 31, 2006, at the age of 53. Delma was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Delma claimed that she was physically abused by James, but the police found no evidence to support this allegation. She said that on the night of the murder, James brutally beat her. Afterward, she called Rick to pick her up.
Delma told the police that she only mentioned to her lover that she wished her husband would die. Rick replied, “That can be arranged.” Delma insisted that Rick and Donald acted on their own, and she did not participate in her husband’s murder. She claimed to have only received a small amount of money after her husband’s death.
In 2007, Delma pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder while Donald pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Both received sentences of 12.5 years in prison.
In the trial held in December 2007, Rick was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years before being eligible for parole.
Delma died in prison at the age of 62 on February 23, 2015. Two years later, on February 24, 2017, Rick died in prison at the age of 57. Donald was released on parole in November 2018.
