5 chilling details about Delma Troy's brutal crime

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Oxygen's Snapped explores the case of Delma Troy (Representative image via Getty)

Oxygen’s Snapped is set to re-air its episode on Delma Troy today, August 12, 2025. The episode revisits the 1985 murder of Hollywood actor and former film star Jimmie Ferrara, who was fatally shot inside his Yuma County home.

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In the aftermath of the killing, investigators launched an intensive search for suspects, but the trail quickly went cold when no viable leads emerged. It would take two decades before authorities identified three individuals behind the crime. Among them was Ferrara’s then-wife, Delma Troy.


Delma Troy's crimes: 5 details explored

Jimmie Ferrara was found dead (Representative image via Getty)
Jimmie Ferrara was found dead (Representative image via Getty)

1) Delma Troy's relationship with Jimmie Ferrara

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Jimmie Ferrara was a celebrated Hollywood actor who rose to fame during the 1940s and ’50s. Ferrara enjoyed a flourishing acting career before transitioning to real estate, splitting his time between Los Angeles and Yuma, Arizona, where he invested in property.

In 1977, on a trip to Reno, Nevada, Ferrara met the then-25-year-old Delma Lee Collier. Despite their 32-year age gap, the pair married in 1981. However, by the mid-1980s, their relationship soured, and they briefly separated in 1984 before reconciling the following year.

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2) The 1985 murder of Ferrara

On September 28, 1985, Ferrara and Delma returned from a two-month trip, and two days later, in the early hours of September 30, 1985, Ferrara was found dead in his Yuma home. Oxygen reported that he had been shot four times, and investigators even discovered four .22-caliber shell casings at the scene. But there was no evidence of forced entry or robbery.

Delma told police that Ferrara and she had argued that night and that she had gone for a walk. She denied any involvement and even passed a polygraph test. With no suspects and no physical evidence connecting anyone to the crime, the case went cold for more than 20 years.

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3) A breakthrough after two decades

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Ferrara's case saw a major development in 2006 when Yuma police received a tip from the uncle of a man named Rick Kosterow, who was later convicted of Ferrara’s murder. Investigators learned that in 1985, Kosterow was a Marine stationed in Yuma and was allegedly having an affair with Delma.

They also uncovered the involvement of Donald White, another Marine, who told detectives that Delma had offered both of them $25,000 each to kill her husband, claiming Ferrara was abusive. White’s account implicated all three of them in a murder plot.

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4) Suspects identified and arrested

According to Oxygen, White alleged that Kosterow and he hid inside Ferrara’s home, waiting for him to return. He also admitted to shooting him. When the police confronted Kosterow with White's confession, he admitted to being present.

Authorities arrested all three of them in 2006. Delma Troy, who was living in Fallon, Nevada, was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy. Donald White was taken into custody in Oklahoma and Kosterow in Washington state.

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5) Trials, sentences, and aftermath

While Rick Kosterow chose to stand trial, both Delma and White accepted plea deals for reduced charges, according to The Denver Post. White pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and Delma pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. They received a 12-and-a-half-year prison sentence.

A jury convicted Kosterow of first-degree murder, felony first-degree murder, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to 25 years to life. Delma Troy died in prison in 2015, while Kosterow died in 2017. White was released in November 2018.

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Catch the full case on Snapped tonight.

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Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay
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