- Title: Murder of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley's ex-wife solved
- Date: 31st January 2017
- Summary: BILL MEDLEY STANDING AT CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF, SAYING: "Because of the familial DNA search, detectives were able to link Troyer's DNA and positively confirm his identity as the killer. Familial DNA search is the only reason Troyer was identified in this horrific crime. Through the perseverance of the detectives and the familial DNA process, we were able finally to provide some degree of closure to Karen's family." MEDLEY SPEAKING AT CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BILL MEDLEY SAYING: "I've been dealing with it about every two years for 40 years and you know there's been a voice in the back of my head, probably Karen, telling me since about 20 years ago, drop it. Let it go. This guy is either dead or he's in prison. And it's just, it's closure. I speak for the family and all of us, it's just nice to close the book on this but it was waiting 40 years and having my friend Darrell call and say we got the guy. That's kind of an out-of-body experience." ELISSA MAYO, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DNA SPECIALIST SPEAKING AT CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ELISSA MAYO, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DNA SPECIALIST, SAYING: "And so when the forensic unknown from the crime scene is identified, and in this particular case it would be a biological sample that was collected, that biological sample was stored. It became a cold case over the years and much to the credit of the individuals who did that collection, they preserved the evidence in such a way, that when the science did catch up, we were able to then implement this protocol, the familial DNA search protocol."
- Embargoed: 14th February 2017 00:07
- Keywords: Bill Medley Righteous Brothers Karen Klaas DNA police familial DNA
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA003619Y2XX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Homicide investigators have solved the four-decades-old murder of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley's ex-wife, using DNA analysis to confirm she was slain by a career burglar who was killed six years later as a prison escapee, police said on Monday (January 30).
The victim, Karen Klaas, a 32-year-old mother of two boys, was attacked in her home in the oceanside town of Hermosa Beach, south of Los Angeles, shortly after returning from dropping her younger son off at school on the morning of Jan. 30, 1976.
She was found unconscious after being strangled and sexually assaulted, lapsing into a coma and dying at a local hospital five days later.
The murder grabbed headlines in part because of the victim's former marriage to Medley, who with Bobby Hatfield made up the singing duo known for such hits as "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'" and "Unchained Melody." Medley and Klaas were married from 1964 to 1970.
The investigation initially focused on five possible suspects, but the case went cold when no evidence was discovered linking them to the crime, police said. The five were later ruled out by DNA testing.
The key break came last year when investigators ran a "familial" DNA search testing biological evidence from the crime scene against a national FBI database of DNA profiles from convicted felons, said Larry Brandenburg, lead detective in the case for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since 2008.
The analysis led investigators to a new suspect pinpointed through a match between the crime-scene sample and a close male relative whose DNA was entered into the system in 2011, Brandenburg said.
Additional investigation and testing ultimately confirmed the killer's identity as Kenneth Troyer, a 29-year-old serial burglar at the time of the Klaas slaying, the detective said.
Troyer was shot to death by police in March 1982 after escaping from a central California prison, where he was serving time for burglary. By then he was suspected of a string of robberies, assaults and rapes in while on the run.
Brandenburg said investigators believe Troyer, a stranger to Klaas, happened to be staying with a relative of his near her home.
Medley, now 76, who remained close to Klaas after their divorce, appeared with authorities and the victim's two grown sons at a news conference on Monday to announce the case had been solved.
"It's been a long road, and we're just thrilled that we can close the book," he said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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