Colorado Springs police solve murder from 1977, teen babysitter stabbed to death

Police in Colorado Springs have solved a 1977 murder in which a teenage babysitter was stabbed to death. Investigators said genetic genealogy DNA helped solve her murder that happened nearly 50 years ago.

Officers received a call about 11:21 p.m. on Feb. 7, 1977 about a death in the 5400 block of North Nevada Avenue. When they arrived, they found a 14-year-old female deceased with multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck. 

That victim was later identified as Maria Loraine Honzell. She had been babysitting for a neighbor with two children who lived in the same apartment complex. When the neighbor returned home about 11:20 p.m. she found Maria deceased in the primary bedroom. The children, aged 6 and 8, were home at the time of the murder but were not harmed. They were found sleeping in bed when the neighbor returned home. 

Autopsy results showed that Maria sustained multiple stab wounds to the chest and one prominent stab wound to the neck area. 

Despite what is described as a thorough investigation, a suspect was not identified. During the decades advancements in DNA technology progressed and several items of evidence were submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for further scientific analysis. A male DNA profile was developed from a bloodstain on Maria's clothing but no match was found through a search using the Combined DNA Index System.

Decades later, in 2019, investigators reached out to Parabon NanoLabs to conduct genetic genealogy DNA analysis involving public commercial DNA databases. The blood on the blue jumpsuit Maria was wearing the night she was murdered was submitted for genetic genealogy, which combines traditional genealogy research methods with DNA testing to infer relationships between individuals and determine their ancestry.

According to Colorado Springs police, "In the investigation of the homicide of Maria Honzell, Parabon submitted the genetic data profile created from the unknown crime scene DNA sample collected from the jumpsuit to a public genetic genealogy database for comparison in hopes of finding individuals who share significant amounts of DNA with the unknown subject. These genetic matches served as clues to inform traditional genealogy research: first, family trees of the matches were constructed back to the set of possible common ancestors using online genealogy databases, newspaper archives, public family trees, obituaries, and other public records, after which descendance research was employed to enumerate the possible identities of the unknown subject."

During the extensive investigation, a person of interest was identified as William Charles Kernan, Jr. He also went by "Bill." He died in 2010. Confirmation DNA was not able to be collected because Kernan had been cremated and had no living biological relatives. At the time, Kernan had been a student at a local college and had known the woman for whom Maria was babysitting on the night she was murdered. Investigators also said that Kernan had been to the apartment complex on prior occasions. 

"I've been on the phone with them probably once a week for the last five years calling and they've come through for us," said Maria's brother David Honzell. "I hope for other families it can be the same way." 

After reviewing the case, the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office "is confident the person responsible for the murder of Maria Honzell is William C. Kernan, Jr."