Patty's Voice: Where Is

Patricia Lee O'Malley-Otto?

I chose the case of Patricia Lee O'Malley-Otto because I have struck up a friendship with Patty's daughter Suzanne Timms. Suzanne has assisted me with this entry. I want to thank her for not only assisting me with this entry, But also for her being a super genuine person. Please check out Light The Way as well not only for their coverage of Patty's case, But the others they advocate for as well. I dedicated "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago to this entry. Not only is it one of my all time favorite songs, In my opinion, it's an acoustic and vocal masterpiece of song. Peter Cetera and Chicago hit on all cylinders with this one. It was a very popular song in the month of September of 1976. Also, I would've liked to have been able to release this on the Anniversary of Patty's disappearance, However I was under a previous case obligation that took a lot of time. I apologize for that. I cannot thank Suzanne enough for trusting me to tell her mom's story. She is very picky about who she lets advocate for her mom. And with good reason. Also this post will be a two part post. This part will deal with Patty and her disappearance, Including the aftermath. And the next post will be on the Finley Creek Jane Doe connection. Anyways, Here we go....

Patricia Lee Otto

If You Leave Me Now by Chicago

"Patty"

Missing Since:

9/2/1976

Missing From:

Lewiston, ID

Date of Birth:

8/4/1952 to

Thomas L. O'Malley

2/5/1926-8/5/1986

& Ardys O'Malley

2/13/1928-7/23/1998

Height & Weight:

5'3 & 140 lbs.

Hair & Eyes:

Blonde & Hazel

Wearing:

White Shell Blouse

Top & Red Slacks

Other:

Scar on Back,

Patty went missing on

8/31/1976. She wasn't

reported missing until

9/2/1976

Husband:

Ralph Otto

(Deceased)

Children:

Natalie Ann Otto-Smith

10/26/1971 to 5/28/2006

Dallas Rae Otto/

Suzanne Smith-Timms

Siblings:

Vickie

Alice

Tommy

Agencies:

Lewiston Police Department:

208-746-0171

Case Number:

C91654

NCIC:

M512627130

Namus:

#MP2064

Doe Network:

394DFID

Patty's Daughter Suzanne holds up a picture of her late mom. Suzanne's older sister tragically passed away in 2006. Suzanne continues to be her mom, Patty's Voice.

“We were told she abandoned us,” she said. “‘Your mom is gone, and she doesn’t want to be a mom anymore. And she ran off with some other man,’” Suzanne quoted her father as saying.

Patty's Daughter Suzanne

to NBC News

December 31st 2023

Young Patty

Patricia Lee O'Malley: Early Life

Patricia Lee O'Malley was born on August 4th 1952 to Thomas Lafayette O'Malley and Ardys Bernadine Deninger-O'Malley in Lewiston, Idaho. She was one of the couple's 4 children. Thomas was a Fire Chief with the Lewiston Fire Department before retiring. Patty's mom Ardys, who was affectionately called "Toots", worked as an Accounting Clerk for a Potlatch Corp.'s Lewiston Paper Mill before retiring. Patty attended Lewiston High School in Lewiston, Idaho from 1966 until she graduated in 1970. While babysitting in 1968, And at the tender age of 16, Patty met someone who would change her life forever. A 34 year old man by the name of Ralph Samuel Otto.

Before we get into Patty and Ralph's relationship, let's find out a little about Ralph Otto....

Who was Ralph Otto?

Ralph Samuel Otto

Date Of Birth:
11/12/1934
Date Of Death:
9/8/1983
Parents:
Arthur Albert Otto
Marjorie Marcella Pedigo-Otto
The Ottos

Siblings:
Gerry Otto
Raymond Otto
Marcella Rae Otto-Smith
Wife:
Neva Joy Morris (Divorced)
Patricia Lee O'Malley-Otto
(Divorced-Post Disappearance)
Children:
Dallas Rae Otto
Natalie Ann Otto

The Ottos with their children: From Left to Right
Jerry, Ray & Ralph

Early Life:

Ralph Samuel Otto was born on November 12th 1934 in Craigmont, Idaho to Arthur Albert Otto and Marjorie "Margie" Marcella Pedigo-Otto. He was the second child of the family. The oldest child, his brother Jerry was two years older than him. Ralph also had a younger sister named Marcy who was two years his junior, And another brother named Raymond was four years younger than him. Ralph attended Lewiston High School from 1948 until he graduated in 1952. In Ralph's Junior Year in High School in 1951, his dad Arthur Otto passed away from a Coronary Occlusion. Ralph married a woman by the name of Neva Joy Morris on July 24th 1952 when he was just 17. The marriage lasted until January 21st 1965 when the two divorced. The reason listed was "cruelty". In 1953 Ralph lost his brother Jerry in a drowning accident. The accident came just 5 months after Jerry had gotten married.

Side Note: Ralph's mom Margie would later remarry in 1954 to a man by the name of Roy Robert Whittum.

Miscellaneous Notes on Ralph:
All prior to his involvement with Patty.

Employment Ventures & Run-Ins:

Ralph mainly was self-employed throughout most of his life. He owned a few businesses along the way that employed heavy machinery. Ralph was an interesting individual to research. At times he was a very shady and callous person. And other times, His love for his kids dictated his actions. Ralph had minor and major brushes with the law since graduating high school in 1952. He would later become a member of the Idaho National Guard and the U.S. Air Force Reserves. We will go back into more of Ralph's life as well as with his brushes with law enforcement a little later. For now tho, Let's get back to Patty....

Striking Beauty- Patty's Yearbook Photo: Lewiston High School (1970)

1968-1969: Ralph Meets Patty O'Malley:

Ralph became acquainted with then 16 year old Patty O'Malley in 1968. At the time, Patty was babysitting for his then girlfriend's kids and he soon took an interest in her. Despite being 34 at the time and 18 years her senior, He was undeterred. He soon impressed Patty as older men tend to do when they try and court younger women. He showered her with gifts and tried to impress her with possessions and the fact he was self-employed. I'm sure the fact he owned his own house and had adequate funds helped. It always seems to be in stories like these.

1970-72: Ralph & Patty Get Hitched-
Family Life

And just like that, it happened. On October 17th 1970 Ralph and Patty became one and married. On October 26th 1971 The couple had their first child, A daughter named Natalie Ann Otto. The couple's second daughter, Dallas Rae Otto was born on November 2nd of 1973. Patty and the rest of the family settled in at the house at 1308 29th St. Patty loved to take care of the house. She also loved to decorate and bake. You would think with a beautiful wife, two beautiful daughters, as well as owning a house and having money would be enough to secure the family's happiness. But again, as you'll soon read. Possessions and money alone rarely secure anything....

1973-75: Patty The Mom & Married Life:

To describe Patty's relationship with Ralph as "rocky" would be a mild understatement. Ralph was an alcoholic who would get blistering drunk and forget what he did. He was also quit abusive. There were frequent fights where they both would get physical with each other. Unfortunately, Patty's kids would be around to see many of these transpire.

Natalie, Patty, & Ralph

Family Portrait: Patty, Ralph, Dallas (Suzanne) and Natalie

1976-Life As A Separated Couple:

By 1976 The couple were separated and Patty had her own apartment. She was also a student at Valley Business School. The 2 were also seeing other people. Ralph had a girlfriend and Patty was seeing a man by the name of Randy Benton who was a former classmate of Patty's in high school. This apparently didn't sit well with Ralph who Patty was attempting to divorce at the time. Then came the night of August 31st 1976....

The Last Fight:
Tuesday, August 31st 1976

That night, “when my mom brought us home, instead of putting us in our bedroom --which is next door to their room -- she put us downstairs,” she told Dateline. “So I think it was known that there was going to be an argument.”

Suzanne to NBC News
12/31/2023

On the night of August 31st 1976, Patty drove to Ralph's house to drop off their two daughters Natalie and Suzanne. According to Suzanne, Instead of taking them to their rooms and getting them ready for bed. She left them downstairs. And Patty went up to Ralph's bedroom. Once Patty entered the room, A fight started. These excerpts are from an interview Suzanne gave NBC News.

Note: The Link for the NBC News interview is highlighted in blue above. I did rely heavily on it since I think it's best to hear the story from Suzanne herself.

“And then as soon as we closed the door, I immediately heard crashing and yelling, I went up the stairs to find out what was happening. And I remember very clearly looking through those wrought iron rails and seeing her hit him in the face, him hit her back,” she said. “And then he grabbed her by the neck, pushed her up against the wall and drug her out of my sight.”

That was the last time either Suzanne or her older sister Natalie saw their mother.....

September 1st 1976
The Next Morning:

“Next thing I know, it was morning and my dad was waking us up and he was yelling that we needed to get our shoes and go,”

Suzanne Timms
NBC News

Suzanne and Natalie eventually fell asleep and the next thing Suzanne remembered was her dad Ralph, waking them up and telling them to put on their shoes, that they needed to go. Ralph took the two girls over to his girlfriend's house for the day. The reason? Ralph told the two of them he had to go look for their mom. That she had left after the fight. And he did not know where she went....

September 2nd 1976
Patty Is Reported Missing:

“‘Your mom is gone, and she doesn’t want to be a mom anymore. And she ran off with some other man.’”

Ralph's story to his daughters

By September 2nd, Patty's sister Alice began to think something was wrong. So she called the Lewiston Police Department to report her sister missing. Lewiston PD sent Lt. Tom Saleen to investigate. He arrived at the Otto's home at 1308 29th St. When he arrived and questioned Patty's husband, Ralph stated Patty left after the two had an argument. He also informed Lt. Saleen that Patty was seeing another man and gave him the man's name. He was soon questioned as well. Saleen is on record stating that he did not question Natalie and Suzanne directly because of their age at the time. One extremely interesting aspect is, Saleen states that the Police Report reflected that Suzanne witnessed her mom being carried out of the house.....

The Investigation Through September:

Not long after the report was filed and Ralph was questioned, He obtained the services of a lawyer and refused to cooperate with the investigation any further. The reason? Ralph felt like he was being "Targeted" by Lewiston PD. Ralph soon became extremely nervous, borderline paranoid and his already heavy drinking steadily increased. And according to his daughter Suzanne, Ralph began having hallucinations. What kind? Apparently one's where Patty came back to haunt him from her grave. Interesting huh? The additional drinking and stress mixed with being emotionally compromised added to Ralph's impaired judgement. And as a result of this, Ralph attempted to do something incredibly stupid.....

Wreck It Ralph
October 26th-31st 1976:

Long Branch Saloon in North Lewiston:

On Tuesday October 26th 1976, Ralph attempted to pay an Idaho Department Of Law Enforcement Liquor Officer Steve Watt $250 to kill Captain Duane Ailor of the Lewiston Police Department, who was the lead investigator into his wife Patty's disappearance. (Which can only be described as "Brilliant".) Ralph promised the undercover agent another $750 upon its completion. Ralph was subsequently arrested the next day (Wednesday) and charged with Attempted First Degree Murder. He was arraigned just two days later and given a $50,000 bond. Ralph's trial date was set for June 24th of the following year. On the 31st of October, Ralph was hospitalized with convulsions likely brought on due to alcohol withdrawal. Ralph was given a psychiatric evaluation thereafter. At this point even Ralph understood he could no longer care for his daughters. Natalie and Suzanne soon went to live with his sister Marcy.

December 8th 1976: What Did Dallas See?

Below is a report by Detective Saleen for December 8th 1976

Report Bullet Points

Patty's Sister Alice Mills, w/Husband Dan, came into the Lewiston Police Department to report on statements Patty's Daughter/Her Niece had made regarding her mom's disappearance.
Alice's husband Dan had heard the remark Dallas made. According to him, On December 4th Dallas stated that "Daddy hit momma and momma also hit daddy".
Dallas also mentioned she saw Daddy carrying mommy out of the house.
When Dan questioned Dallas the next day, (5th) Dallas stated Daddy had helped mommy sneak out.
Saleen asks Alice why this information had not come out sooner. He also mentions that Dallas may have mentioned a similar story to the neighbors. Alice states she had only asked Natalie at the time. And didn't think of asking Dallas. (Who was only 3 at the time)
Both Alice and Dan state they did not encourage the girls to make these statements. And they do not know why Dallas brought it up.
On the 6th Ralph came to pick up the girls. An altercation occurred and Ralph struck Dan in his jaw after an exchange of words.
Ralph apparently planned to no longer allow the Mills to see the girls after the altercation. He later returned, accompanied by his brother Ray, and took the toys and the clothes the girls had at the residence.
Prior to coming into the Police Station that day, Alice tried to locate where the girls were staying and she called Ralph's sister Marcy. Marcy stated that she did not have the girls at the time.
The Report also mentions that Ralph filed a complaint against Detective Saleen regarding a BB Gun Ralph had owned.

The takeaway from this report? It does NOT look good for Ralph at this point.....

January 9th 1977:

Ralph's Mental State In Question

Below is a report by Detective Saleen for January 9th 1977

Report Bullet Points

Detective Saleen traveled to Washington to speak to a man by the name of Donald Tuschoff.
Don's connection to Ralph was Don's Wife Shirley, Who grew up with Ralph.
Tuschoff stated he wanted this all off the record. (That worked out well. He was likely scared of Ralph)
Tuschoff advised he almost called between Christmas and New Years.
He mentions that Ralph's brother Ray had planned to take Ralph to a Mental Institution in Orofino. (Same time frame. Between X-Mas & New Years)
The info Donald was relating to Saleen is secondhand from his wife Shirley and her friend Bonnie Shopbell.
Don stated he was told that Ralph was Hallucinating that Patty's grave was in his garage. That Ralph was deeply disturbed about something. He stated the hallucinations involved a Policeman on top of Patty's grave looking up and smiling at him.
He also mentions Ralph was not surprised that his kids had not "ratted him out". (Whoa!)
Don stated that Ralph was basically "feeling the heat" from Lewiston PD. (Deservingly so) Ralph indicated that Lewiston PD had "surrounded" his house. (Whether Ralph means that Lewiston PD is constantly driving up and down his street or whether this is part of his psyche now is unknown. Maybe both)
Saleen asked Tuschoff what Shirley and Bonnie said in regards to how Patty was murdered. He relayed they stated that Patty came at Ralph with a gun and he stabbed her. (Whoa!)
Saleen scheduled a follow up.

The takeaway from this report? It REALLY does NOT look good for Ralph at this point.....

There's a 4 page Police Report that goes with the prior one I just broke down. I have the document directly beneath the video. I would break it down. However, Here is a video of Patty's daughter Suzanne doing it for us....

Follow-Up on Previous Report & Breakdown

Courtesy: Patty's Voice

June 24th 1977: Ralph's Trial

On Friday June 24th 1977, A 7 woman 5 man jury listened to an hour-long taped conversation between Ralph Otto and Steve Watt that took place in North Lewiston at the Long Branch Saloon on October 26th 1976. Prior to the jury rendering their verdict, Defense witnesses testified on Ralph's behalf. They pleaded with the jury that Ralph did not know what he was doing. And that he had an issue with alcohol going back to his teenage years. And that when something traumatic occurred in his life, Like losing his brother, his dad, and a previous divorce, That those events only intensified Ralph's drinking over the years. They pleaded with the jury that Ralph was already sick and Patty's disappearance was his breaking point. That he was too drunk to know what he was doing. The jury apparently didn't buy it. The jury found 42 Year Old Ralph Samuel Otto guilty of Attempted First Degree Murder. He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison, which would be served at the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho.

April 9th 1981: Ralph's Reprieve

"Are not acts of perpetration at all but are clearly the preparatory acts of incitement of another to commit a crime of mere solicitation. These acts are not sufficient .... to support a conviction on the charge of attempted murder."

Idaho Supreme Court

On Thursday April 9th 1981, On a Vote of 3-2 the Idaho Supreme Court overturned the Attempted Murder Conviction of Ralph Samuel Otto. Their reasoning? They argued the mere fact that Ralph solicited to have Captain Duane Ailor murdered was NOT sufficient reason for him to be convicted of Attempted First Degree Murder....Yes, You read that correctly. That's insane, But that's how they interpreted Idaho State Law apparently. I highly doubt that would fly now, But the fact that it did then is mind-boggling. When interviewed regarding the decision from the Supreme Court, Otto stated that he was not planning upon returning to Lewiston upon being released. That he would like to move to Australia. And that he would eventually like his daughters to join him. He credited his family for keeping him alive. He also credited prison for curing his addiction to alcohol. When asked about Patty he stated he did not know where she was, Nor did he have any theories.

1981 to 1983-Ralph's Post Prison Life:

Note: I do not have an exact date of Ralph's release. But it was likely somewhere in the June to July range of 1981. The prosecution delayed his release because they requested the Idaho Supreme Court to review the case instead of just the conviction. They denied the request and Ralph was then released.

September 7th 1983

Unfortunately upon Ralph's release, He went back into his old ways. He did return to Lewiston despite his previous statements. He also got hooked on drinking again. On September 7th at around midnight, 48 Year Old Ralph Samuel Otto was arrested on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on a Grand Theft charge. Ralph was temporarily put in the Nez Perce County Jail until a Deputy from Clearwater County could pick him up. The charge for Grand Theft was out of Orofino. The next day Otto met with a Clearwater County Sheriff's Deputy who transferred him to a facility in their jurisdiction. Within 20 minutes of Ralph's arrival he went into a seizure. Attempts at resuscitation failed. Ralph Samuel Otto was declared dead at approximately 5:30 a.m. on September 8th 1981.

Patty's Daughter-Left to Right in both pictures:
Natalie & Dallas/Suzanne Pre & Post their mothers disappearance.

Ralph Samuel Otto was never tried nor convicted of his wife Patty's disappearance. She remains missing....Or is she? More on that in a future entry.....If you're curious now. Just look into the Finley Creek Jane Doe Case.

Analysis & Thoughts:

I wanna explain a little of my process on how I go about evaluating cases that are brought to me by either families of the missing and murdered, Or even ones brought to me by other advocates. In my opinion, One of the most dangerous things advocates do is just accept the narrative of the case that's been given to you by either the family or advocate who brings you the case. I can't speak for anyone else. But that is NOT my job, Nor how I do things. I've made other advocates upset when I cover the same case they have, Or vice versa, when I haven't accepted the general narrative being told. I am different. I do not have to accept any narrative that i'm given. It's not that I am disrespecting the family or the other advocate's work. I do this for many reasons. I would rather look at things myself and come to my own conclusion as to what happened. I would rather do my own work.

Now that may seem stupid to say. But it's not. Not in this field. Most advocates in this community advocate for themselves more than the cases they profile and make money off of. They make the cases about them. They believe they own cases. And when you disagree with them on their analysis of a case. Look out. It's war. Their egos become enormous and they end up believing they are more important than they actually are. This may seem conceited, But I do better more thorough work than 95% of this field. Do I make mistakes? I make plenty. Am I wrong sometimes? Most definitely. Do I think i'm special? Absolutely not. If I were to stop my work and delete my blog. Nothing would matter.

Anyways, The reason I bring this up is that when I received the info on this case from Patty's daughter. She of course told me what she believed happened. And I will admit I tried my best to shoot holes in her theories. That is my job. That is what any good investigator does. All I can say is I tried. Suzanne has been super diligent and thorough in her efforts. She is also a very logical and pleasant woman on top of this. I say this because she has been through hell and keeps going. In 2006 she lost her sister Natalie (And Natalie's family) in an accident. She ended up losing her son to suicide as well. This is all on top of losing her mother at the age of three. She is a remarkably strong and sincere lady. And I agree with her analysis on her mom's case. I also agree with her analysis on the Finley Creek Jane Doe case. That case will be a future post where I interview a good friend of mine who is an actual coroner, And who I have introduced to Suzanne. She agrees with Suzanne not only in regards to her mom's case, But on the Finley Creek Jane Doe Case as well.

As I said, I tried to shoot holes in her analysis and I couldn't. The biggest clue I think in this case was that Patty drove her car over to Ralph's house on August 31st 1976, They had an argument and she supposedly left.....Without her car. Yes, Patty apparently left her car at Ralph's house. Where the hell would she go on foot? What did Ralph do with it? He gave it to his girlfriend to drive around. Yep. Ralph gave Patty's car to his girlfriend. How he wasn't arrested for her murder is beyond me. You had Suzanne as a witness to the fight the night her mom disappeared. You had her saying things like "Daddy helped Mommy sneak out". I tried to look for a way for Ralph NOT to be responsible for this. The thing that threw me off with him was his love for his daughters. I believe he genuinely loved them. Even if he did take their mom away. You can tell in the picture he took with them after she disappeared. And he never abused his daughters.

Ralph with Natalie (Top) & Dallas/Suzanne

Let me be clear on this. Ralph was a drunk, Ralph abused women, Ralph was a murderer, Ralph was a very very odd man. He wasn't a good man at all. I believed he murdered Patty and his conscience couldn't come to terms with it. So he increased his drinking to try and compensate. And it didn't work. He knew he not only did something very wrong. But he hurt his daughters as well. And I think that was what ate at his conscience so badly. I genuinely believe that man loved his daughters with everything he had in him. As best as he could. Again, That absolutely does not take away from what Ralph did. Ralph murdered Patty. As usual, I tried to make this entry the most detailed and thorough entry on the case you'll find anywhere online. However, As Suzanne advised me a few days ago, This is merely one percent of the data she has accumulated over the years. I encourage you to follow Suzanne on Facebook and Tik Tok for the rest of the information. I do believe I have covered the most important aspects of the case in this entry. And again, I wanna thank Suzanne who spent a number of nights that ended in the early morning hours answering my questions on the phone regarding her mom's case. It's always good when you can make a genuine friend out of a family member of a missing person whose story you have written about. As always,

Until next time....