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SLC Police Seek DNA Match In 1995 Cold Case Death

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Salt Lake City homicide detectives are seeking a DNA sample from a Colorado man in hopes they can thaw out the 17-year-old cold case of a man shot dead at a party.

A warrant seeks DNA from a Fort Collins man who had been interviewed in the months after John Wollshleger, 30, of Sandy was found shot in the head and lying in the bed of a pickup truck in July 1995.

In an interview in Wyoming, the man told detectives Wollshleger was shot at a party before another man dragged him by the feet and tossed him in a truck. Wollshleger was later found by two ambulance workers.

Detectives followed up in March with the man, who had moved to Colorado. He initially said he didn't remember the event, but later said he knew some details. After the interview, he refused to give a DNA sample.

Police interviewed another witness in April who said she believed Wollshleger had come to the party to buy cocaine. She said her boyfriend and another man dragged the body to a truck, and her boyfriend drove off to discard it.

Police collected a DNA sample from the woman's boyfriend, but it didn't match the DNA they'd found on Wollshleger's socks and shoes.

A warrant filed in December in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court seeks samples from three men thought to be at the party.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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