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Illinois Cold Case
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Lisle, Ill., Police Department shows Bruce Lindahl. (Lisle Police Department via AP)

DNA links a suspected Chicago-area serial killer who died in 1981 to a woman's 1979 death

Authorities say DNA found on the clothing of a suburban Chicago woman who was kidnapped and killed 45 years ago matches that of a suspected serial killer who died two years later of a self-inflicted knife wound

By AP News
Published - Oct 23, 2024, 05:17 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:03 PM EST

NORTH AURORA, Ill. (AP) — DNA found on the clothing of a suburban Chicago woman who was kidnapped and killed 45 years ago matches that of a suspected serial killer who died two years later, authorities said Wednesday.

The DNA of Bruce Lindahl, who is believed to have killed as many as a dozen women and girls, was confirmed to be on Kathy Halle's clothing, authorities said.

Authorities believe Halle was abducted in March 1979 after leaving her North Aurora apartment complex. Her body was found weeks later in the Fox River, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Chicago, North Aurora police Detective Ryan Peat said at a news conference.

In 1981, Lindahl was found dead in an apartment in Naperville, another of Chicago's western suburbs. 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.

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