Bruce Lindahl was identified as the lead suspect in the January 13, 1976 rape and murder of 16-year-old Pamela Maurer in Woodridge, Illinois. The case was cleared by exception due to the death of Lindahl.
Maurer had left a friend’s house and gone to a nearby restaurant to buy a soft drink and was not seen again. Her body was found lying beside a road the next morning. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
The FGG investigation was conducted by Parabon Nanolabs. Lindahl’s remains were exhumed to confirm that his DNA was consistent with that recovered from the crime scene.
Lindahl died in 1981 from a self-inflicted wound to his thigh while stabbing another victim to death. The victim in that case was a high-school student named Charles Huber.
Lindahl was also accused of raping a 20-year-old woman in 1979, but prosecutors declined to bring charges. He had also been charged in the 1982 rape of Deborah Colliander, but those charges were dropped when she was found murdered – two weeks before she was scheduled to testify in court. Police now say he is the sole suspect in her death, as well. They are investigating him for about a dozen murders and nine rapes that took place in the area at the time, but no further charges have yet been laid.
Sources:
Chicago Sun Times Editorial Board. “Police Use DNA to Solve a 1976 Murder – and Now the Public Can Help Crack More Cold Cases.” Chicago Sun Times, January 14, 2020. Accessed December 24, 2020. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/1/14/21065404/bruce-lindahl-pamela-maurer-debra-colliander-debora-mccall-dna-evidence-dupage-states-attorney.
Dodge, John. “The Case of Pamela Maurer’s Murder Went Cold for Decades, the Genetic Sleuthing by Parabon Helped Crack It.” CBS Chicago, January 15, 2020. Accessed December 24, 2020. https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/01/15/pamela-maurer-bruce-lindahl-parabon/.
Jones, Megan. “Years of Violence: A Timeline of Brice Lindahl in the West Suburbs.” Aurora Beacon News, January 23, 2020. Accessed December 24, 2020. https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/ct-abn-bruce-lindahl-timeline-st-0123-20200123-mcj32wsy4nfhnepmjzrv7z7gl4-story.html.
NBC News 5 Chicago. “Man Behind 1976 Murder of Chicago-Area Teen Believed to Be Serial Killer: Police.” NBC News 5 Chicago, January 13, 2020. Accessed December 24, 2020. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/1976-murder-of-chicago-area-teen-solved-decades-after-her-death/2200555/.
NBC News 5 Chicago. “Man Linked to 1976 Murder Now a Suspect in 12 Killings, 9 Rapes.” NBC News 5 Chicago, January 17, 2020. Accessed December 24, 2020. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/man-linked-to-1976-murder-now-a-suspect-in-12-killings-9-rapes/2202963/.