Marion Police identify cold case tied to Krajcir

Timothy Krajcir, already convicted of a 1982 Carbondale

murder and tied to six other deaths across several states, has been

connected to the unsolved 1978 murder of Marion resident Virginia Lee

Witte.

Witte was brutally murdered in her Westernaire Estates home in the

early morning hours of May 12, 1978. Her body was discovered by her

husband, David F. Witte, shortly after 1 p.m.

An investigation by the Marion Police Department and the Williamson

County Detective Unit turned up no suspects, even though over 100

pieces of physical and forensic evidence were collected from the

crime scene.

Many leads involving the case were followed without success. The Wite

homicide eventually became classified as a "cold case" investigation.

In recent weeks, Marion police were contacted by Carbondale police

investigator Lt. Paul Echols, who was investigating the 1982

Carbondale homicide investigation of Deborah Sheppard. Lt. Echols

identified Kracjir as the suspect in that investigation.

Similarities in the Sheppard and Witte evidence led Echols and Marion

Police Det. Tina Morrow to further investigate a possible connection.

Subsequent reviews led Marion Police Chief Gene Goolsby to tell the

Marion Daily on Wednesday that an old case was being investigated for

possible ties to Krajcir.

On Thursday, Goolsby said that Kracjir had been interviewed by

investigators from the Marion Police Department and "he provided

several pertinent pieces of information regarding the Witte

investigation, as well as information pertaining to three previously

unsolved sexual assaults and robberies that occurred in the

Williamson County area in 1982."

Det. Morrow said this morning that when looking for connections

between cases, police study the mode of operation (M.O.) of the

perpetrator.

"You look at the M.O. used and similarities between the ways the

crimes were committed," Morrow said. "Was there a sexual assault

connected? What type of violence occurred? What methods were used?

"That can help tie a cold case to other crimes committed around the

same time."

Goolsby said Thursday that his department will continue the

investigation in to the Witte murder and follow any and all pertinent

leads to the fullest extent.

"The Marion Police Department has notified the Williamson County

State's Attorney's office of the recent developments in the Witte

case and will continue to update their office with any additional

information or details regarding this investigation."

Investigators in several states are looking at unsolved murder cases

from the late 1970s and early 1980s to determine Krajcir could have

been involved.

Krajcir, 63, pleaded guilty Monday to the rape and murder of

Shepherd, a Southern Illinois University student. Later Monday, he

was charged in Cape Girardeau, Mo., with killing five women from 1977

to 1982. Authorities also announced that day that Krajcir admitted to

three other killings.

The locations of those killings were not released, but police in

Reading, Pa. and Paducah, Ky. - in addition to Marion - are taking a

close look at Krajcir. Meanwhile, authorities in Poplar Bluff, Mo.,

and New York, New Jersey and Colorado are also reviewing unsolved

cases to see if there is a possible link.

Krajcir, a native of Allentown, Pa., has spent most of his adult life

behind bars for sex crimes. After a stint with the Navy, he first

entered the Illinois prison system in 1963 on rape charges. Except

for a brief period of freedom in the late 1970s and early 1980s,

Krajcir has been in prison ever since.

It was DNA evidence that connected Krajcir to the Sheppard killing in

Carbondale and the Cape Girardeau murders. Authorities in

Pennsylvania said DNA evidence also links him to the 1979 murder of

51-year-old Myrtle Rupp, found strangled inside her Reading home.

DNA collected from the murder scene was submitted to a nationwide

database and Krajcir came up as a match, Pennsylvania State Police

Lt. Thomas G. McDaniel said.

''We feel pretty confident in the investigation,'' McDaniel said. And

authorities were investigating whether Krajcir could have been

involved in other unsolved crimes in Pennsylvania.

In Kentucky, Paducah police stopped short of calling Krajcir a

suspect but said in a statement that the department is reviewing cold

cases from the 1970s and early 1980s for a possible connection.

''Detectives hope to interview Mr. Krajcir if they conclude he might

be involved in any of Paducah's unsolved cases,'' the statement said.

Police declined additional comment.

Poplar Bluff Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rolland said Krajcir is not

likely connected to the unsolved case there because it dates to

around 1971 - Krajcir was apparently in prison at that time. ''But we

wanted to check it out just in case,'' he said.

Krajcir attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale around

the time of the killings. Cape Girardeau is about 35 miles from

Carbondale. Paducah is 55 miles away. Marion is just 16 miles away.

Another crime in Cape Girardeau from the same era - the 1979 murder

of Deborah Martin, remains unsolved, but Smith said evidence suggests

Krajcir was not connected to that crime.

Smith said Krajcir agreed to admit to the killings in Cape Girardeau

and Carbondale only after authorities promised not to pursue the

death penalty. Smith said it is possible Krajcir killed others in

addition to the ones he's admitted to, but he doubted it.

''He disclosed some things he wasn't really forced to up front,''

Smith said. ''On the other hand, could he have done others? Yes.''

- AP writers JoAnn Loviglio in Philadelphia, Jim Suhr in St. Louis

and Joe Biesk in Frankfort, Ky., contributed to this report.

Marion Daily Republican

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