Police have solved the case of the missing 19-year-old woman who vanished from her Illinois village 50 years ago, but the suspected serial killer died before he could answer for his heinous deeds.
According to local authorities, Kathy Halle vanished in March 1979 while on her way to pick up her sister from a nearby North Aurora retail complex. 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 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.
It’s said that Lindahl was allegedly carrying out another murder in Naperville, Illinois around the time of his death. Lindhal has been connected to several other cases in this area from that timeframe, Peat said. 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.
It is now believed by authorities that Lindhal, who frequently visited the mall where Halle worked, kidnapped the victim from her apartment complex parking lot and transported her to the location where her body was found.
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While revisiting this case has been incredibly difficult, we are deeply grateful to finally have closure after 45 long years, a statement from Halles family read during the news conference said. Thanks to advancements in DNA technologies and groundbreaking tools, we are hopeful that other families wont have to endure the same pain and uncertainty that we faced for so many years.
The Halle family attended the news conference and Deputy Chief Joe Gorski issued a statement on their behalf. While revisiting this case has been incredibly difficult for our family, we are deeply grateful to finally have closure after 45 long years,” the statement read. “Thanks to advancements in DNA technology and groundbreaking investigative tools, we are hopeful that other families wont have to endure the same pain and uncertainty we faced for so many years.”
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We extend our heartfelt thanks to the North Aurora Police Department and all the agencies and organizations involved for their dedication, persistence, and for never giving up even when the odds seemed impossible. The kindness and respect shown to our family during this journey will never be forgotten.
