Man who killed teen in 1989 identified though DNA technology

September 6, 2022

Georgia cops cracked a 33-year-old case once they identified the person who killed a 19-year-old woman via family tree DNA.

Henry Fredrick Wise, also referred to as Hoss Wise, allegedly killed Michigan teenager Stacey Lyn Chahorski in 1988, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced Tuesday.

Wise, nevertheless, died in a fiery automotive crash in 1999 earlier than he may face justice.

Chahorski’s physique was discovered on Dec. 16, 1988 about 5 miles from the Alabama Stateline on I-59 northbound lane in Dade County, GA.

“Wise was a truck driver who drove through Dade County, Georgia on his regular route,” Keri Farley, FBI Atlanta’s particular agent in cost, said at a press conference.

Wise, who would have been 34 on the time, was working as a truck driver. He had been touring via Chattanooga to Birmingham to Nashville for the Western Carolina Trucking Company, and likewise labored as a stunt driver on the facet.

Chahorski’s physique was past recognition. A GBI forensic artist made clay renderings and drew composites to recreate what the sufferer would seem like in hopes of figuring out her, officers stated, however Chahorski wasn’t identified till March 2022.

Stacey Lyn Chahorski was discovered lifeless on a Dade County, Georgia interstate in 1988.

Henry Fredrick Wise was a truck driver who often traveled alongside the Georgia freeway.

After lastly figuring out Chahorski was the sufferer, GBI and FBI turned to family tree DNA testing for the assassin’s profile and obtained optimistic outcomes in June. The officers interviewed Wise’s household and obtained DNA swabs in order to determine him because the killer.

“This case is key because it is the first that we know of that investigative genealogy was used to identify both the victim and the killer,” Farley stated.

Officials famous that Chahorski’s mom is at peace understanding her daughter’s killer is not dwelling.

Wise burned to loss of life in a stunt automotive accident at Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina 11 years after he killed Chahorski. He had a felony historical past in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, starting from theft, and assault, to obstruction of a police officer. Wise’s arrests predate obligatory DNA testing after a felony arrest, the GBI stated.