OWATONNA, Minn. — An 84-year-old southern Minnesota man has been charged with murder in a 50-year-old cold case once thought to be the work of a notorious serial killer and former Green Bay Packer.
On February 15, 1974 Mary K. Schlais was found dead at an intersection in Spring Brook, Dunn County, according to the sheriff’s office there. Police said it was a murder.
Schlais was from Minneapolis and police believe she hitchhiked to Chicago for an art exhibit.
Decades passed as investigators followed leads, conducted interviews and examined evidence. The Dunn County Sheriff’s Office said it used genetic evidence to find and arrest Jon Miller of Owatonna.
Authorities charged Miller with first-degree murder on Thursday, according to court records. He is in custody awaiting extradition to Wisconsin.
The previous suspect was a serial killer, former Green Bay Packer
In 2009, Schlais’ body was exhumed and DNA testing allowed investigators to identify a suspect two years later: Randall Woodfielda one-time Green Bay Packers draft pick who would later become known as the I-5 Killer.
Authorities linked Woodfield to dozens of murders along Interstate 5 from Washington to California in the 1980s. He is in prison in connection with one murder, but has never confessed to any of the murders.
Woodfield was traveling from Portland to Green Bay at the time of Schlais’ killing, authorities determined, and he matched a witness’ suspect description. Woodfield was never further connected to or charged with Schlais’ murder.
WCCO personnel
