An 84-year-old man was arrested this week in connection with the slaying of a female hitchhiker 50 years ago in Wisconsin.
Mary K. Schlais, 25, was found dead Feb. 15, 1974, at an intersection in Spring Brook, Wisconsin, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Minneapolis, woman was killed while hitchhiking to an art show in Chicago, Sheriff Kevin Bygd said Friday.
“This was a very bright lady who had a very bright future ahead of her,” he said. “Her life was taken away.”
Although investigators worked the case for decades, chasing tips and collecting evidence, “no viable suspects were identified,” according to the sheriff’s office.
But through forensic genetic genealogy, Bygd said investigators tracked down Jon Miller, 84, at his apartment in Owatonna, Minnesota. Miller on Thursday “confirmed his involvement with Mary’s homicide” after 50 years, Bygd said.
Miller was awaiting extradition to Wisconsin, Bygd said. It was not clear Friday afternoon if Miller had retained an attorney.
Bygd said he was ecstatic when he heard of Miller’s arrest.
“I had a difficult time controlling my excitement,” he said. “You know, I’ve been here with this agency for 35 years, and this case has been worked on all those 35 years.”
The sheriff continued: “This is a huge victory for our agency.”
The sheriff’s office said in recent years, it had collaborated with Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, and its team of genetic genealogists helped identify Miller as a suspect.
Through genetic genealogy, law enforcement utilizes commercial DNA databases to find family matches to the DNA of a crime suspect, a victim or a missing person.
Last month, authorities in Arizona announced they used genetic genealogy to identify a John Doe whose remains were found near the Hoover Dam more than a decade ago. The man was not seen by his family for nearly 30 years.
Don Schlais, 79, of Minneapolis, said Friday that he never thought he would see the day an arrest was made in his sister’s death.
“It’s just surreal. You don’t expect it after all this time,” he said.
Schlais said his sister had earned an undergraduate degree in art from the University of Minnesota and was applying to graduate school. She was passionate about horses and horseback riding, he said.
Schlais credited law enforcement and the forensic team for the arrest. He said whatever happens to Miller, is out of his hands.
“I’m going to let go and I’m going to let God,” he said. “I suspect he will take care of this. He’ll have to pay the karma when he dies.”
