Jerry Walter McFadden has been identified as the lead suspect in the July 24, 1979 rape and murder of 20-year-old Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland, Oregon. The case has been cleared by exception due to the death of McFadden.
Hlavka was found dead in her apartment. She had been sexually assaulted by an intruder and strangled with the electrical cord from her clock radio. The case has been cleared by exception due to the death of McFadden.
The FGG investigation was conducted by Parabon Nanolabs. The McFadden family voluntarily provided their DNA to assist in the investigation and confirm McFadden’s identity.
Investigators learned that McFadden had been visiting the area at the time. He was executed in Texas in October of 1999 for multiple murders, and his DNA was not entered into CODIS. He was convicted of the rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl, as well as the shooting deaths of two other persons. At the time of Hlavka’s murder in 1979, he was on parole for several prior rape convictions. While awaiting execution, he briefly escaped and murdered a female correctional officer.
Sources:
Hatmaker, Taylor. “A Popular Genealogy Website Just Helped Solve a Serial Killer Cold Case in Oregon.” Tech Crunch, January 31, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/31/hlavka-murder-gedmatch-dna/.
Portland Police Bureau. “Cold Case Homicide Detail Solves 40-Year-Old Case (Photo).” Portland Police Bureau (Press Release), January 31, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=199719.