Apr 30, 2009 10:00 pm US/Central
Cold Case: The 2 Susans In Highland Park
(WCCO)
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Susan Petersen (left) and Susan Rheineck (right) were both found strangled to death in Highland Park in St. Paul two years apart -- Peterson in 1983, Rheineck in 1985. Both cases are still unsolved.
CBS
It has been more than 25 years since a young woman named Susan was found murdered in St. Paul. On the very same date two years later -- May 17, 1985 -- another victim also named Susan was killed. Both victims were strangled and sexually assaulted.
For years, police feared a serial killer may have been targeting females named Susan, and staked out the areas where the victims were last seen and later found.
Detectives considered the possibility that the killer died or was in prison for another crime, but in 2009 came a surprising twist: DNA evidence submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension determined two separate killers were to blame for the Susans' deaths.
The DNA results were entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's national database to see if there is a link to any other cases. But so far, there have been no "hits," or links to killers currently in prison.
St. Paul cold case investigators are still following up on possible leads in the cases authorities now recognizes as discrete crimes.
If you know anything about either case, contact the St. Paul Police Department's homicide office at 651-266-5650.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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