DNA Evidence Solves 50-Year-Old Wisconsin Hitchhiker Murder Case
TL;DR
An 84-year-old man, Jon Miller, has been arrested in connection with the 1974 murder of Mary K. Schlais, a 25-year-old hitchhiker, in Wisconsin. The case, which had remained unsolved for decades, was cracked using forensic genetic genealogy, leading investigators to Miller in Minnesota. Schlais was killed while traveling to an art show in Chicago, and her brother expressed relief at the arrest after so many years. The Dunn County Sheriff's Office collaborated with genetic genealogists to identify Miller as a suspect.
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- A woman was murdered in 1974 while hitchhiking to a Chicago art show. 50 years later, investigators found her killer CNN
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- Man arrested 50 years after Minneapolis woman's killing in Dunn County, Wisconsin FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
- Genetic testing leads to arrest of Owatonna man 50 years after Minneapolis woman was found dead in Wisconsin KSTP
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