DNA mange to link serial killer to over 40 years old case

Forty-five years after 17-year-old Kathy Halle was killed in the Illinois village of North Aurora, police have finally identified her murderer as serial killer Bruce Lindahl.

Lindahl is suspected of having raped and killed a dozen women and teenage girls in the state during the 1970s and 1980s. The North Aurora Police Department on Wednesday announced that DNA evidence found on Halle’s clothing was a match for Lindahl, who killed himself in 1981 while committing a murder in Naperville.

The police department said in a statement it concluded that Lindahl was responsible for Halle’s death based on the “definitive” DNA evidence and patterns from Lindahl’s known crimes.

North Aurora Police Chief Joseph DeLeo described Wednesday as “both a solemn and proud day” for their community.

“Today, we honor Kathy Halle and her memory, and we pledge to continue our efforts to ensure that every victim receives the justice they deserve,” he told reporters during a press conference.

Halle left her North Aurora home on March 29, 1979, to pick up her sister at the Northgate Shopping Center in nearby Aurora, but failed to arrive and a missing persons investigation was launched.

However, three weeks later, on April 24, her body was found in the Fox River.

Following decades of investigations, her death was deemed a cold case as no new evidence was found.

North Aurora Police Detective Ryan Peat said during the press conference that in 2019, police in the nearby village of Lisle made a breakthrough in the case of Pam Maurer, who was murdered in the mid-1970s. Familial DNA had linked Lindahl to her death.

After that, Lindahl became a suspect in several cold cases, and Halle’s investigation was reopened in 2020.

In August, DNA Labs International out of Deerfield Beach, Fla., confirmed that the DNA found on Halle’s clothing belonged to Lindahl.

Peat said they now believe that on the night Halle disappeared, Lindahl abducted her from her apartment complex’s parking lot, then drove her to the area of Fox River where her body was later discovered.

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser told reporters that if Lindahl was still alive, they would have charged and tried him.

“To the family, I want you to know that this would have been a case we would have charged, we would have actively prosecuted it and I’m confident that based on the work of the detectives at North Aurora and all the scientists involved with the DNA labs, we would have finally obtained justice for Kathy,” she said.

The Halle family said in a statement read by Deputy Chief Joseph Gorski during the press conference that while it has been painful to revisit the case, they are “deeply grateful to finally have closure.”

“Thanks to advancements in DNA technology and groundbreaking investigative tools, we are hopeful that other families won’t have to endure the same pain and uncertainty that we faced for so many years,” the family said.

Authorities said they hope this breakthrough will lead the closing other cold cases.