Sometimes the smallest piece of evidence can crack a murder case wide open decades later. That was the situation with the sexual assault and slaying of a Washington state woman back in 1980. Thanks to the evolution of DNA technology and the persistence of law enforcement professionals, the alleged killer of a Boeing worker named Dorothy Silzel will finally be brought to justice 44 years after the crime.
Sounds incredible, doesn't it? It's like an episode of Columbo, but this is real life and every bit as dramatic and twisty as a Hollywood whodunit. Read more for all the details!
What Are The Facts Of This Case?
Dorothy Silzel Was Found Dead In Her Home
Silzel, 30, a Boeing worker, was discovered dead in her home in Kent, Washington. Per the New York Post via the Seattle Times, Silzel "was sexually assaulted, suffered blunt force trauma to the head and died from strangulation."
Although sperm samples were taken, DNA technology at that time was not as sophisticated as it is now. Therefore, those samples did not help police pinpoint a suspect in Silzel's killing.
In 2022, There's A Break In The Dorothy Silzel Murder Case
Despite The Passage of So Many Years, Silzel's Killing Was Not Forgotten
According to the Post, "The case eventually went cold until it was revived more than 40 years later in March 2022 when a forensic genealogist uploaded a DNA profile to a pair of databases. The profile pinpointed 11 possible suspects who are all first cousins, the [Seattle Times] newspaper reported, citing court docs."
Clearly, the authorities were now onto something. They at last were hot on the trail of a man named Kenneth Kundert, 65. as their suspect.
Murder Suspect Kenneth Kundert Was In Arkansas
Authorities Reached Out To An Arkansas Sheriff's Office Regarding Kundert
As it turns out, Kenneth Kundert was already being looked at for possible involvement in an assault case in Arkansas. Interestingly, Kundert was reportedly smoking cigarettes when questioned by police there - and he pocketed all the butts!
This next development sounds as if it could have been masterminded by trench coat-wearing sleuths. Police from Kent, Washington, went to Arkansas in pursuit of Kenneth Kundert. They reportedly followed him to the parking lot of a Walmart, where Kundert was smoking and discarding the butts. After sifting through trash, the investigators recovered some of Kundert's butts, one of which bore DNA that matched what was found on Dorothy Silzel's body.
Kenneth Kundert "was taken into custody on Aug. 20 by Van Buren sheriff deputies and is being held on $3 million bail. He is expected to be extradited to Washington at a later date," according to the Post.
