Authorities have used fresh DNA evidence to identify the perpetrator of a 19-year-old girl who vanished from her Illinois hamlet nearly 50 years after the cold case murder.
According to local authorities, Kathy Halle vanished in March 1979 while on her way to pick up her sister from a neighboring shopping complex in North Aurora.
According to Ryan Peat, a detective with the North Aurora Police Department, Halle’s body was found in the Foxe River three weeks after police first looked into the case as a missing person. He made this announcement at a news conference on Wednesday.
Authorities concluded that there was insufficient evidence to identify a suspect after years of investigation, and the matter was closed.
According to Peat, investigators didn’t look into the case again until 2020 after connecting DNA from Bruce Lindhal, a suspected serial killer who committed suicide in 1981, to the killing of Pamela Maurer.
Authorities in North Aurora linked Lindhal’s DNA, which was gathered during the investigation of Maurer, to DNA evidence discovered on Halle’s clothing using cutting-edge forensic technologies.
“Lindhal has been connected to several other cases in this area from that timeframe,” Peat stated. “With this new evidence, along with the evidence from similar cases involving Lindhal, we are able to conclude Lindhal was responsible for death of Kathy Halle.”
Read Also: Drive-By Shooting at Detroit Apartment Complex Leaves One Dead, Another Wounded
Authorities now think Lindhal, who frequently visited the mall where Halle worked, kidnapped the victim from her apartment complex parking lot and took her to the location where her body was found.
Halle’s family released a statement during the news conference that read, “While revisiting this case has been incredibly difficult, we are deeply grateful to finally have closure after 45 long years. Thanks to advancements in DNA technologies and groundbreaking tools, we are hopeful that other families won’t have to endure the same pain and uncertainty that we faced for so many years.”
