A man suspected of murdering a young hitchhiker half a century ago has been arrested after DNA testing.
The arrest of John K. Miller, 84, was announced Thursday by the Dunn County Sheriff's Office. Miller, of Owatonna, Minnesota, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the 1974 murder of Mary K. Schleiss.
Investigators have been working on cold cases for 50 years. Schleiss, a 25-year-old traveling artist From Minneapolis, I was on my way to an art exhibition. in chicago when she was killed.
“Mr. Schleiss was found dead near the intersection of 408th Avenue and 990th Street in Springbrook Township, Dunn County,” the Dunn County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. “There were witnesses who saw the suspect and the suspect's vehicle that they believed to be involved in the murder of Mary Schleiss.”
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Mary Schleiss, 25, was found dead near an intersection in Wisconsin in 1974. (Dunn County Sheriff's Office/Google Maps)
Over the past 50 years, investigators have searched for countless clues but never found them. It was only after authorities collaborated with the Center for Investigative Genetics at Ramapo College in New Jersey that the case was able to move forward.
Sheriff Kevin Vigde told Fox News Digital that a hat found at the crime scene led authorities to the suspect. At a press conference on Friday, Mr. Bygd announced that Mr. Miller had confessed to his involvement in the murder.
“When confronted with the evidence, 84-year-old John K. Miller admitted his involvement in Mary's murder in 1974,” officials said.
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John K. Miller, 84, confessed to involvement in the 1974 murder. (Steele County Sheriff's Office)
“I believe it will be a relief for him, who has lived with this situation for 50 years,” Vigdo said at a press conference. ”[This has] It must have been on his mind almost every day. you would think like this [for] Anyone with a conscience would do that. ”
The sheriff also noted that hitchhiking was common in 1974.
“In 1974, it wasn't that unusual for people to hitchhike from Minneapolis to Chicago,” Bygd said. “But stories like this are why we don't let our kids do it anymore.”
Mary Schleiss was hitchhiking to an art show in Chicago when she died. (Dunn County Sheriff's Office)
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“She was a very bright young woman with a very bright future ahead of her,” he added. “And her life was taken too soon.”
