DNA links suspected serial killer to murder in cold case just two years before his death

The unsolved case of a woman who was kidnapped and murdered before her body was found in a river could have finally been solved.

DNA found on the clothing of the Chicago woman killed 45 years ago matched that of a suspected serial killer who died two years later, police said Wednesday.

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

Authorities believe Halle was kidnapped 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 western Chicago suburb. Police said he apparently accidentally slashed a large artery in his own leg and bled to death while fatally stabbing an 18-year-old man inside the home. Numerous photos of naked women were later discovered in Lindahl's apartment. His remains were exhumed for DNA testing in 2019.

In 2020, authorities announced that Lindahl's DNA linked him to the 1976 strangling of 16-year-old Pamela Maurer, whose body was found by a motorist on the side of the road in the village of Lisle.

In the Halle case, prosecutors concluded that “the science was good and that it did indeed show that the DNA found on Kathy's clothing belonged to Bruce Lindahl,” Kane County Prosecutor Jamie Mosser said on Wednesday to reporters.

“So had he not killed himself during a homicide, we would have approved a first-degree murder charge against Bruce Lindahl and would have gone to trial on that,” Mosser continued.

Halle's family said in a statement that it was difficult to revisit the case, but they were grateful that the case could be closed after 45 years.

“Thanks to advances in DNA technology and groundbreaking investigative tools, we hope that other families will not have to endure the same pain and uncertainty we have faced for so many years,” the family said. “We extend our heartfelt thanks to the North Aurora Police Department and all agencies and organizations involved for their dedication, perseverance and for never giving up, even when the odds seemed impossible.”

At the time of his death, Lindahl was a suspect in the 1980 rape and kidnapping of Debra Colliander. Authorities believed that Lindahl had kidnapped the woman from a suburban mall and raped her in his Aurora home before she managed to escape fleeing and calling the police from a neighbor's house.

He was charged and released from jail after posting bail. A few days before she was scheduled to testify at his trial, Colliander disappeared, forcing prosecutors to drop the charges in 1981.

In 1982, a few months after Lindahl's death, Colliander's body was discovered in a shallow grave by a farmer. An autopsy could not determine how she died, but her death was ruled a homicide.