The person who’s suspected of murdering a younger hitchhiker half a century in the past has been arrested, due to DNA testing.
The arrest of Jon Okay. Miller, 84, was introduced by the Dunn County Sheriff’s Workplace on Thursday. Miller, a resident of Owatonna, Minnesota, was charged with first-degree homicide in connection to the 1974 murder of Mary Okay. Schlais.
Investigators had been engaged on the chilly case for 50 years. Schlais, a 25-year-old artist touring from Minneapolis, was en path to an artwork present in Chicago when she was killed.
“Schlais was found deceased near the intersection of 408th Ave. and 990th St. in the Township of Spring Brook, Dunn County,” the Dunn County Sheriff’s Workplace stated in a press release. “There was an eyewitness that observed a suspect and suspect’s vehicle that were believed to be connected to the homicide of Mary Schlais.”
Mary Schlais, 25, was discovered useless close to an intersection in Wisconsin in 1974. (Dunn County Sheriff’s Workplace/Google Maps)
Over the previous 50 years, investigators have explored numerous leads which have fallen quick. It wasn’t till authorities labored with the Investigative Genetic Family tree Heart at Ramapo Faculty in New Jersey that the case was in a position to progress.
Sheriff Kevin Bygd advised Fox Information Digital {that a} hat discovered on the crime scene led authorities to the suspect. Throughout a press convention on Friday, Bygd introduced that Miller had confessed to his involvement within the homicide.
“When confronted with the evidence, 84-year-old Jon K. Miller confirmed his involvement with Mary’s homicide in 1974,” the official stated.
Jon Okay. Miller, 84, confessed to being concerned within the 1974 homicide. (Steele County Sheriff’s Workplace)
“I believe it’s got to even be a relief for him after 50 years of living with this,” Bygd stated later in the course of the presser. “[This has] had to have been on his mind almost every day. You would think [for] anybody with a conscience, it would.”
The sheriff additionally famous that hitchhiking was a typical apply in 1974.
“You know, in 1974, it wasn’t that unusual for somebody to hitchhike from Minneapolis to Chicago,” Bygd stated. “But stories like this is the reason we don’t let our kids do it anymore.”
Mary Schlais was hitchhiking to an artwork present in Chicago when she was killed. (Dunn County Sheriff’s Workplace)
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“This was a very bright young lady who had a very bright future ahead of her,” he added. “And her life was taken away from her way too soon.”
