Arrested in Dunn County homicide case – hassteveclarkresignedyet

DUNN COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU) — Dunn County authorities have made an arrest in connection with an open case that dates back to 1974.

Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bigd said John Miller, 84, of Owatonna, Minn., was arrested Thursday in connection with the murder of Mary Schleiss.

On February 15, 1974, Schleiss was found dead near the intersection of 408th Avenue and 990th Street in Spring Brook.

At the time, Schleiss’ death was ruled a homicide, and the initial investigation indicated that she was hitchhiking from Minneapolis to an art show in Chicago.

Over the next several decades, many tips, leads, and interviews related to the murder were conducted, but no viable suspect was ever identified.

In recent years, Dunn County Sheriff’s Office investigators began working with a team of genetic genealogists at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, which led to the identification of Miller as a suspect.

Miller is in custody awaiting extradition to Wisconsin.