Minnesota man sentenced to life in prison for 1974 murder of hitchhiking woman in Wisconsin
A judge on Thursday sentenced an 84-year-old southern Minnesota man to life in prison for the 1974 murder of a Minneapolis woman.
Jon Miller, of Owatonna, Minnesota, entered a no contest plea to a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Mary K. Schlais. In addition to his life sentence, Miller was ordered to pay $2,200 in restitution.
Mary Schlais, 25, was found dead in an intersection in the Township of Spring Brook, Wisconsin, on Feb. 15, 1974, according to the Dunn County Sheriff's Office. Police believed she had been hitchhiking to Chicago for an art show.
The case went cold as investigators tracked leads, conducted interviews and examined evidence. Investigators were able to use genetic evidence from a stocking cap found near Mary Schlais' body to find and arrest Miller five decades after the murder.
"Mary Schlais was more than a victim. She was a brilliant, independent woman, a gifted artist, an equestrian, a world traveler and a scholar," Nina Mary Schlais, Mary Schlais' niece, said. "This case is a reminder that justice has no time limit, and to families still searching for the truth, let Mary's story be a testament that persistence, science and dedication can bring a long-awaited closure."
Dunn County joined forces with Ramapo College in New Jersey, which specializes in genetic genealogy. After interviewing and collecting DNA from multiple potential relatives, authorities were led to Miller, according to court documents.
Investigators say the fact that Miller was adopted initially made it harder to track him down.
When authorities met with Miller, they say he initially denied knowing about Mary Schlais' killing. When told of the DNA evidence, Miller admitted to picking her up while she was hitchhiking and asking for "sexual contact," the criminal complaint states. He allegedly told investigators that when she said no, he grabbed a knife he had stowed in the car and fatally stabbed her in the back. An autopsy revealed Mary Schlais had been stabbed more than a dozen times.
Miller said he pulled off the highway and tried to hide Mary Schlais' body in a snowbank, but got scared when a car drove by and left the area. He also admitted to investigators that the stocking cap found near Mary Schlais' body had been his.
In 2009, Mary Schlais' body was exhumed and DNA testing allowed investigators to identify a suspect two years later: Randall Woodfield, a one-time Green Bay Packers draft pick who would later become known as the I-5 killer.
Authorities linked Woodfield to dozens of killings 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 killings.
Woodfield was traveling from Portland to Green Bay at the time of Mary Schlais' killing, authorities determined, and he matched a witness's suspect description. He was never further connected to or charged with Mary Schlais' murder.
