Kentucky teen's murder solved after nearly half a century

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The Boone County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky announced on Wednesday, that with advances in DNA technology, it had solved a 46-year-old murder case involving a 16-year-old female victim.

The body of 16-year-old Carol Sue Klaber was discovered in a roadside ditch on Chambers Road in Walton, Kentucky on June 5, 1976.

Carol Sue Klaber was 16 when she was found brutally murdered in 1976, and this week, the Boone County Sheriff's Office announced through advancements in DNA, Thomas W. Dunaway was found to be the murderer. (Boone County Sheriff's Office)

Members of the Kentucky State Police responded to the scene and took over the investigation into Klaber’s murder.

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The Sheriff’s office said in a press release that the investigation found the victim died of blunt force trauma and her body showed evidence of strangulation and sexual assault.

Detective Jerry Keith of the state police chased leads for nearly a decade, but then the case went cold.

In 2017, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office established a cold case unit that consisted of Detectives Coy Cox and Tim Adams, who took over Klaber’s case that same year.

DNA test (iStock)

The two detectives combed through documents and evidence and found that the suspect’s DNA and fingerprints were collected at the crime scene in 1976.

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At first, Cox and Adams went after two credible suspects, but the forensic evidence did not match.

In September 2022, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Houston, Texas-based Othram Inc., to determine if the DNA retrieved from the scene could be analyzed using advanced forensic testing.

Advancements in DNA testing have helped police departments across the country to establish identities of suspects in cold cases, which is what the Sheriff’s office was hoping to do.

Pipette placing sample into vial for extracting DNA evidence in forensic lab.  (Andrew Brookes via Getty Images)

Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization that provides funding for investigative agencies to help solve cold cases, provided funding to have the DNA sent from the Kentucky State Police Central Forensic Center to Othram. As a result, scientists at Othram were able to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the suspect.

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The profile was used to create investigative leads through genetic genealogy, leading detectives to Thomas W. Dunaway, originally of Park Hills, Kentucky.

Dunaway, the release said, was 19 when he brutally murdered Klaber in 1976.

He later built up a criminal history and died at the age of 33.

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Klaber’s family was notified of the findings, the Sheriff’s office said, and Dunaway’s DNA will be entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to be checked against other unknown profiles.