DNA links suspected serial killer to 19-year-old's cold case murder in Illinois

NORTH AURORA, Ill. (WGN) — Authorities have linked a suspected serial killer to the kidnapping and murder of a 19-year-old Illinois woman, more than 45 years after her death.

The DNA of Bruce Lindahl, who is believed to have killed as many as a dozen women and girls, was confirmed to be on the clothes Kathy Halle was wearing the night she was murdered, the Kane County State's Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Halle vanished on March 29, 1979, after leaving her North Aurora apartment complex. Weeks later, a boy spotted her body while 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.

Police in North Aurora said they partnered with a company called DNA Labs International while looking into the cold case. A company spokesperson said researchers used a proprietary tool, described as a "DNA wet vac," that's helping provide unprecedented results in forensic science.

“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,” Halle's family said in a statement.

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to the North Aurora Police Department and all the agencies and organizations involved for their dedication, persistence, and for never giving up, even when the odds seemed impossible," the statement continued.

In 1981, Lindahl was found dead in an apartment in Naperville, another Chicago suburb. Police said he apparently accidentally slashed a major artery in his own leg and bled to death while fatally stabbing an 18-year-old man in the home. Many photos of naked women later were discovered in Lindahl’s apartment. His remains were exhumed in 2019 for DNA testing.

At the time of his death, Lindahl was a suspect in the 1980 rape and kidnapping of Debra Colliander. Authorities believed Lindahl abducted the woman from a suburban shopping center, and raped her in his Aurora home before she managed to escape and call police from a neighbor’s house.

He was charged then released from jail after posting bail. Days before she was to testify at his trial, Colliander vanished, forcing prosecutors to drop the charges in 1981.

In 1982, several months after Lindahl’s death, Colliander’s body was discovered by a farmer in a shallow grave. An autopsy was unable to determine how she died, but her death was ruled a homicide.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.