A Colorado man has been arrested in connection with the 1987 strangulation slaying of a 20-year-old soldier, authorities said Friday.
Michael Whyte, 58, was taken into custody at his Thornton home by civilian and Army investigators for suspicion of first-degree murder of Darlene Krashoc, who was stationed at Fort Carson.
Krashoc’s body was found behind a restaurant in Colorado Springs on March 17, 1987. Investigators were stymied for decades until DNA evidence led them to Whyte.
After finding male DNA on several pieces of evidence, authorities used the services of a technology company that predicts physical appearance and ancestry “from unidentified DNA evidence,” according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
“Individual predictions were made for the suspect’s ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, and face shape,” the police department said.
A composite image of the suspect was distributed by investigators to the public in 2017, and Whyte would be identified as a suspect earlier this year.
“Words cannot convey the satisfaction we are feeling from this arrest,” said Major General David Glaser, the Provost Marshal General of the Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.
He added that agents worked “tirelessly and shoulder to shoulder” with the Colorado Springs Police Department.
“We sincerely hope that today’s announcement in some small way brings comfort to the family and friends of Spc. Darlene Krashoc,” he said.
Whyte is being held without bond at the Adams County Detention Facility in Colorado.
