Investigators in Georgia used genealogy DNA testing to track down the murderer of a Michigan woman who went missing more than three decades ago.
In January 1989, Stacey Lyn Chahorski of Norton Shores, Michigan, went missing. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that authorities confirmed, using a new genealogy investigation, that a body discovered in Georgia’s Dade County in December 1988 was Chahorski’s.
The same technology has now been used to identify her killer as Henry Fredrick “Hoss” Wise, according to officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wise, a stunt driver, was killed in a car accident in 1999 at Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina. According to a GBI press release, he would have been 34 at the time of Chahorski’s murder.
“This case is significant because it is the first time that we are aware that investigative genealogy has been used to identify both the victim and the killer in the same case,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office Keri Farley at a press conference.
During a press conference in Dade County, Ga., on March 24, 2022, investigators display images of Stacey Lyn Chahorski, whose body was identified 33 years after missing.
Chahorski’s unidentified body was discovered on I-59 in Dade County, Georgia, about 5 miles from the Alabama state line, on December 16, 1988.
“Investigators found what was thought to be the killer’s DNA at the scene,” Farley said, “but it couldn’t be linked to the person for years.”
When Chahorski was identified in March of this year, GBI agents assigned to the case sought help from the FBI to find her killer.
The crime scene DNA was sent to Othram, a Texas-based laboratory that assisted in identifying Chahorski’s remains.
In June, Othram scientists performed a genealogy DNA analysis and successfully created a DNA profile for the unknown male suspect, while FBI genealogists developed investigative leads.
GBI agents then began interviewing potential relatives and collecting DNA swabs for comparison to the profile, resulting in the identification of Wise.
Wise also worked as a truck driver for Western Carolina Trucking, and his regular route took him through Dade County.
He had a criminal record in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, including theft, assault, and obstructing a police officer. However, these offences occurred before DNA testing was required for felony arrests.
“Technology alone did not solve this case,” Farley said. “The determination of agents in both the FBI and GBI, along with every officer who worked this case for 33 plus years, helped bring this case to its conclusion.”
Chahorski’s remains were initially buried in an unmarked grave in Dade County before being identified and returned to her family in Norton Shores this year. Today she would be 52 years old.
