Who was Jerry Mikkelson? Homicide victim identified after 36 years as police dig more information about his death
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA: The body of a homicide victim has finally been identified after 36 years, however, authorities are still trying to find out more information related to the death.
Jerry Mikkelson willingly left his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on August 8, 1983, according to the Jackson County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office.
Four years later, the 24-year-old's body was found near the border of Colorado and Wyoming. He was wearing a vest with the initials LBL written on a tag, police say.
It’s believed Mikkelson was killed in Wyoming and dumped in Colorado based on soil samples, the sheriff's office said according to 9 News.
How was Jerry Mikkelson identified?
Mikkelson’s body was unidentified for years. The sheriff’s office exhumed his remains in June which led to new DNA samples as well as the discovery of a titanium rod in his right femur.
Using investigative genetic genealogy and other techniques, Mikkelson was finally identified, the sheriff’s office announced. His family was able to confirm that he had broken his femur six years before going missing.
Are there any suspects in Jerry Mikkelson’s murder?
Police did not reveal if there are any suspects in Mikkelson’s murder. Police say Mikkelson might have spent time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Olathe, Kansas, Wyoming and possibly Colorado, citing a missing person’s report filed by his family in 1983.
He was five-foot-nine, weighed about 160 pounds and had brown eyes, brown hair and naturally curly and wavy hair, police say.
Anyone with information about Mikkelson or the cold case can submit a tip totips@jacksoncountyco.gov, or at 970-875-7069.
New DNA evidence may solve cold case of Georgia couple found dead almost a decade ago
Meaww previously reported that the mystery related to the cold case murder of a couple who were found with one decapitated and the other dumped in a lake could be a step closer to being solved after almost close to a decade.
In early May 2014, Russell and Shirley Dermond were murdered in Great Waters Reynolds at Lake Oconee, a gated community in Putnam County, Georgia.
Russell, 88, was last seen alive on May 1, 2014, out running errands in nearby Eatonton. He and Shirley, 87, spoke to their son Brad on the phone later that day and they were looking forward to attending a party the following weekend for the 2014 Kentucky Derby with their neighbors.
However, concerns grew after the old couple failed to turn up for the event.
A neighbor went over to their house to check on them on May 6 where they found the door unlocked and discovered the horrifying crime scene.
Russell was found beheaded, lying in a small pool of blood on the floor of the garage with his head nowhere to be found, The Mirror reports.
Police arrived at the scene and weren't able to find Shirley inside the house, initially believing she had been kidnapped. But, tragically, her body was found by fishermen in Lake Oconee.
It seemed as if someone had tried to weigh her body down to avoid her being discovered. An autopsy found she had died from two or three deep wounds to the head from a blunt object.