Police in Kent, Washington, announced a significant breakthrough in a decades-old murder case, thanks to DNA evidence from a cigarette butt. Kenneth Duane Kundert, 65, was arrested in Arkansas on a warrant for the murder of Dorothy “Dottie” Maria Silzel, who was found dead in her Kent home in 1980. Silzel, a 30-year-old Boeing training supervisor, was strangled, suffocated, and sexually assaulted.
Investigators initially collected DNA evidence during the initial investigation, but it wasn't until advancements in DNA technology in 2016 that a partial DNA profile from the crime scene matched an unknown individual, referred to as Individual A. In 2022, genetic genealogy identified 11 possible suspects, including Kundert and his brother.
After Kundert declined to provide a DNA sample, police obtained one from a discarded cigarette butt, which matched Individual A's DNA profile. Kundert, who lived near Silzel at the time of her death, is now facing first-degree murder charges in King County, Washington, with bail set at $3 million.
Silzel, originally from North Dakota, had been living in the Seattle area for 12 years before her tragic death. The use of genetic genealogy in this case highlights the power of modern forensic techniques in solving cold cases and bringing closure to families of victims.
