The body of Dorothy Silzel was found in her Washington State apartment in February 1980. According to the medical examiner, the 30-year-old had been raped and then strangled. The investigation into the perpetrator came to nothing. Until a discarded cigarette butt eventually led to the arrest of the alleged killer 44 years later.
According to the Seattle Times, Silzel had worked for Boeing and lived alone. Investigators found the perpetrator’s semen, but DNA analysis methods were not advanced enough to determine his identity. The unsolved case was forgotten until a Kent Police Department cold case team reopened it in September 2022.
Police fed the stored genetic samples into various databases of criminals and sex offenders. There were 11 matches – because all the potential perpetrators were cousins and all had previous convictions for various crimes.
Investigators’ investigation determined that only Kenneth Kundert could be responsible for the crime. He was 20 at the time and lived with a relative in Kent, just 50 yards from Silzel’s apartment. Police theorized: Kundert could have seen Silzel at a pizza delivery shop where the woman occasionally helped out. They found the now 65-year-old in Arkansas.
Police fished cigarette butts from trash cans
Washington police flew to the southern state and were hot on Kundert’s trail. They observed him smoking a cigarette in a grocery store parking lot and then throwing it in a trash can. Officers fished out the stub. DNA from Kundert’s saliva matched the killer’s semen sample.
Kundert was arrested on August 20 in the small town of Clinton, Arkansas, and is awaiting extradition to Kent to face charges of murder and rape.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
