Warming Cold Cases
Matt Hanley of the Aurora Beacon News is producing a nice six-month series on unsolved local murders. The fourth installment, on the 1979 killing of 19-year-old Kathy Halle, was published on January 20. Here, North Aurora Sgt. Steve Van Loan explains why he's still chasing the case:
"First, I'm a cop," Van Loan said. "You got a bad guy out there who hasn't been prosecuted. Second, I'm a parent, and someday I'd like to know what happened."
A few months ago, Van Loan submitted some DNA evidence from Halle's murder to the state crime lab. There's always a chance it can finally lead to an answer.
Across the country, it's been shown that cases which seem closed, found a way to open again. Technology caught up to evidence. Loyalties change, and someone decided to talk.
By now, Halle's killer could be dead. Or, he could be in prison, where all Illinois inmates must submit DNA to be entered in a giant database. Either way, Van Loan will be waiting.
Some of Hanley's cases go back to the 1960s, but as Michigan's Janet Chandler murder case shows, new publicity can help solve old crimes.
suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/lifestyles/748526,AU20_HALLE_WEB1.article
suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/lifestyles/748416,2_5_AU20_HALLE_S1.article
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/02/national/main3446980.shtml