Young Woman's Hitchhiking Trip Turned into a Tragedy: How Police Solved the Crime Decades Later

A judge sentenced an 84-year old Minnesota man to life last week for a murder he committed over 50 years ago.

Jon Miller pleaded “no contest” to one count of first-degree murder for the killing of Mary K. Schlais on Thursday. He will serve a life sentence and was ordered to pay $2,200 in restitution, CBS News reported.

Schlais, 25, was found dead near a wooded intersection in Wisconsin on Feb. 15, 1974, according to the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin. Police believe she was hitchhiking from her home in Minneapolis to Chicago for an art show when she met Miller.

Though investigators looked into several “tips” and “leads,” conducted interviews and examined evidence, the case went cold. But later, investigators were able to use genetic evidence from a stocking cap found near Schlais’ body to arrest Miller more than 50 years later. 

Miller was initially hard to track down because he was adopted, according to investigators.  

When authorities initially interviewed Miller, they say he denied knowing about Schlais’ killing, according to CBS. When they told him about the DNA evidence they found, Miller admitted to picking her up while she was hitchhiking and asking for “sexual contact.”

According to a criminal complaint, when Schlais denied his advances, Miller grabbed a knife he had in his car and stabbed her in the back. An autopsy revealed that she had been stabbed more than a dozen times, according to the outlet. 

Miller also told police that he pulled off the highway and tried to hide Schlais’ body in a snowbank, but got scared off when a car drove by. He admitted to investigators that the stocking cap found near her body was his, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CBS. 

“Mary Schlais was more than a victim. She was a brilliant, independent woman, a gifted artist, an equestrian, a world traveler and a scholar,” Nina Mary Schlais, Mary Schlais’ niece, said to the outlet. 

“This case is a reminder that justice has no time limit,” she continued. “And to families still searching for the truth, let Mary’s story be a testament that persistence, science and dedication can bring a long-awaited closure.”