Winconsin 1974 Mary Schlais Cold Case Solved - A Stocking Cap Exposed Her Killer 50 Years Later

In February 1974, 25-year-old Mary Schlais left Minneapolis, Minnesota, believed to be hitchhiking toward Chicago for an art show. She never made it. Hours later, Mary was found murdered beside a rural road in Dunn County, Wisconsin. A witness had seen a man near her body and watched him leave in a gold-colored car. Police had a description of the suspect and his vehicle, yet the identity of Mary’s killer would remain unknown for decades. The investigation survived false leads, the exhumation of Mary’s remains, advances in DNA testing, and eventually investigative genetic genealogy. Evidence preserved from the original crime scene ultimately led investigators to Jon K. Miller of Owatonna, Minnesota. More than 50 years after Mary’s murder, Miller was arrested. In 2025, he entered a no-contest plea to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. This episode of Root of Crime follows the Mary Schlais case from the final journey she began in 1974 to the evidence that finally gave investigators the name they had been searching for. Subscribe to Root of Crime for carefully researched true crime documentaries, solved cold cases, historic murder investigations, and the stories of victims whose cases took decades to answer. #TrueCrime #ColdCase #ColdCaseSolved #MarySchlais