The killer has been identified of a Michigan woman whose body was found in Dade County, Ga., 34 years ago.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation in March identified the victim as Stacey Chahorski, who was 18 when she was murdered.
The GBI on Tuesday identified truck driver Henry Fredrick "Hoss" Wise as her killer.
Wise, who would have been 34 at the time of Ms.
Chahorski’s murder in 1988, was identified through genealogy DNA. Wise was a truck driver, traveling the route for Western Carolina trucking company, driving through Chattanooga to Birmingham to Nashville and was also a stunt driver.
In 1999, Wise was killed in a car accident at Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina and was burned to death. Wise had a criminal history in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, ranging from theft, assault, to obstruction of a police officer. Wise’s arrests predate mandatory DNA testing after felony arrest.
GBI agents assigned to this investigation sought the FBI to assist with genealogy DNA. FBI used Othram, a lab specializing in this advanced testing, and received positive results on June 13 of this year. The GBI began to interview family and obtained DNA swabs for comparison to the profile created through genealogy DNA and identified Wise.
Mary Beth Smith, Stacey Chahorski’s mother, expressed gratitude to the FBI, GBI Special Agent Adam Jones for his relentless pursuit of the case, and GBI Forensic Artist Marla Lawson for her work on the composite drawing and clay rendering. She also thanked Dade County Sheriff Ray Cross, all the people in Dade County who took care of Stacy as she was brought home to Norton Shores, Mich., and the Norton Shores Police Department for never giving up on finding her.
On Friday, Dec. 16, 1988, at around 2 p.m., the Dade County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI responded to the scene of a body located about five miles from the Alabama State line on I-59 northbound lane in Dade County. The body was of an unidentified woman that had been killed.
In the mid-2000’s, the case was reassigned, and investigators found additional evidence that could possibly identify the victim. Investigators sent the evidence to the FBI lab in Washington D.C. for further testing. Analysts developed a DNA profile of the victim and entered the profile in the missing persons DNA database.
In 2015, the case was reassigned again, and a GBI forensic artist did new clay renderings and composites of the victim for an age progression. The GBI contacted the FBI about the possibility of using a new type of genealogy investigation that had been credited with assisting in solving other cold cases, particularly homicide investigations. With this technology, Stacey Lyn Chahorski was identified. She was reported missing in January 1989 and would be 52 today.
The victim was buried in a Dade County cemetery. Her body was reunited with her family after she was identified.