DUNN COUNTY, Wis. (TCN) — Investigators recently identified an 84-year-old suspect in the stabbing death of a woman who died while hitchhiking from Minneapolis to Chicago nearly five decades ago.
According to the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office, Mary Schlais was found deceased on Feb. 15, 1974, near an intersection in Spring Brooke, Wisconsin. Per a criminal complaint posted by WEAU-TV, officials observed Schlais’ body in a snow bank with multiple stab wounds on her upper body, as well as defensive wounds.
Investigators reportedly recovered a stocking cap near the victim and determined the hairs on it did not belong to Schlais, but authorities were unable to find a match at the time.
The victim allegedly left her home on the morning of Feb. 15, 1974, to go to an art show in Chicago. According to the sheriff’s office, a witness claimed to have seen the suspect and the suspect vehicle connected to Schlais’ death.
The case went cold until recently, when the sheriff’s office began working with Ramapo College in New Jersey in recent years to implement genetic genealogy. According to the criminal complaint, investigators tested the DNA from the stocking cap found at the scene and identified 84-year-old Jon Miller of Owatonna, Minnesota, as the primary suspect.
Authorities met with and interviewed Miller on Nov. 7. He initially denied knowing anything about Schlais’ death. However, after investigators confronted him with the DNA evidence, he allegedly confessed to picking up the victim. Miller reportedly said he wanted to have sex with her, but she rejected his advances. Miller allegedly retrieved a knife from above the passenger seat visor and stabbed her in the back.
According to the complaint, Miller told investigators he drove off the highway and hid Schlais’ body in a snowbank and tried to cover her with snow. Miller then drove away.
The sheriff’s office arrested Miller on a charge of first-degree murder. He will be extradited back to Wisconsin.
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