A decades-old cold case in Illinois has finally found closure thanks to a groundbreaking DNA analysis. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday that the DNA of Bruce Lindahl, a suspected serial killer, was matched to the clothes of a 19-year-old woman named Kathy Halle, who was murdered over 45 years ago.
Halle vanished on March 29, 1979, after leaving her apartment complex in North Aurora, a suburb of Chicago. Her body was later found by a boy who was fishing along the Fox River, about 40 miles west of Chicago. Investigators believe Halle was on her way to pick up her sister from work when she was abducted, killed, and her body was dumped in the river.
The DNA match was made possible through a partnership between the North Aurora Police Department and a company called DNA Labs International. The company’s proprietary tool, known as a “DNA wet vac,” has been instrumental in providing unprecedented results in forensic science.
Halle’s family expressed their gratitude to the authorities and agencies involved in solving the case, saying that they are “hopeful that other families won’t have to endure the same pain and uncertainty that we faced for so many years.” They also thanked the North Aurora Police Department for their dedication and persistence in solving the case.
Lindahl was a suspect in several other crimes, including the 1980 rape and kidnapping of Debra Colliander. However, he was released from jail after posting bail and later died in 1981 under mysterious circumstances. His remains were exhumed in 2019 for DNA testing, which ultimately led to the match with Halle’s DNA.
Colliander’s body was discovered in 1982, several months after Lindahl’s death, but her cause of death was unable to be determined. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the case remained unsolved for decades. The DNA match in Halle’s case brings closure to another family who had been searching for answers for far too long.
