COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Colorado Springs Police Department announced the closure of a cold case dating back to a 1977 mystery.
On Wednesday, CSPD says that the murder of 14-year-old Maria Loraine Honzell has been closed. Honzell was found on the night of February 7, 1977, at the Suncrest Apartments off of North Nevada Avenue.
Honzell was found dead from multiple stab wounds in the apartment of a woman who had employed her to babysit. The woman came home after 11:00 pm to find Honzell dead and her two children asleep in their bedrooms. At the time of the murder, CSPD could not find a suspect based on the available evidence.
As the years progressed and DNA technology advanced, CSPD revisited the case. Evidence that had been preserved for decades was sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for further analysis. CBI was able to produce a male DNA profile based on blood stains found on Honzell's clothing, however, it did not match any potential suspect DNA profiles and the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
The case took a step in the right direction in 2019 when CSPD asked Parabon NanoLabs to use a variety of DNA and geological databases to find a match. Following the research William (Bill) Charles Kernan Jr. was identified as a suspect of interest. No DNA was recovered from Kernan as his body was cremated and has no living biological relatives.
Despite this, Kernan was identified as a local college student and was a known acquaintance of the mother Honzell had been babysitting for, and through the cold case investigation had been to the apartment complex at previous times.
After reviewing all the evidence the Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office, says it is confident that William C Kernan Jr murdered Maria Honzell and will be closing the case.
According to Tracey Thompson, a detective with the Colorado Springs Police Department Cold Case Department, the case of Maria Honzell has been open for 47 years. Thompson said this case was able to move forward thanks to the development of genetic genealogy technology.
Thompson was adamant that all cold cases with the Colorado Springs Police Department are open and the department continues to ask the public to come forward with any information.
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