Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents believe they’ve identified the killer of Stacey Chahorski, a 19-year-old woman who was found dead on the side of Interstate 59 in Dade County in 1988.
Chahorski remained unidentified until this spring, when an emerging technology called DNA genealogy was used to find her identity. State and federal officials used that same technology to track down the alleged killer and believe Henry Fredrick Wise, aka Hoss Wise, killed Chahorski while working as a truck driver.
GBI and FBI officials made the announcement at a news conference Tuesday.
“We’re standing before you today, almost 34 years later, to say we have finally identified Stacey Chahorski’s killer,” said Keri Farley, special agent in charge of the FBI in Atlanta. “I think the most important message we can deliver today is to any victim of violent crime is that the FBI and our entire law enforcement community in Georgia will never give up, and I will use every technological advancement we can to seek justice for you and your family.”
(READ MORE: Investigators identify Dade County homicide victim after nearly 34 years)
A stunt car driver, Wise burned to death in a 1999 crash at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina, according to a GBI news release. He had a criminal history in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, including theft, assault and obstruction of a police officer.
Wise’s regular trucking route took him through Dade County, Farley said. She also noted that all of Wise’s convictions predated mandatory DNA testing for felony crimes.
Investigators found what was believed to be the killer’s DNA at the crime scene, but it couldn’t be linked to a specific person, law enforcement officials said. The FBI found a living relative of Wise who was cooperative, and a DNA match was confirmed through that family member.
“This case is key because it’s the first time that we know of that investigative genealogy was used to find both the victim and the killer in the same case,” Farley said.
The technology is “relatively new,” she said, but has been used to solve several cold cases throughout the nation.
Joe Montgomery is the special agent in charge of the GBI regional office based in Calhoun. At the news conference, he said the Chahorski family — from Michigan — couldn’t make it to the announcement, so he shared a few words given to him by the victim’s family. The family thanked the FBI, GBI and the Dade County Sheriff’s Office, especially Sheriff Ray Cross for “hounding” state and local law enforcement to find new ways to find the killer.
Cross could not be reached for comment.
Henry Fredrick WiseLaw enforcement officials offered few details about the DNA genealogy technique used in the case but emphasized that the technology also requires traditional police work to track down leads. The testing was conducted by a company called Othram.
In the fall of last year, Othram received an $18 million investment from a venture capital fund. In a media statement on the investment, Othram said its Texas laboratory is the only facility in the United States or Canada “offering end-to-end, in-house processing from forensic evidence to investigative leads.”
“The genealogy DNA doesn’t tell you exactly who it is, it develops a profile, then you have to go through different relatives,” Montgomery said. “It’s almost like a tree, and you’re working your way back to the trunk.”
Also at the news conference, Chris Arnt, district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, thanked GBI agents for their “tireless” effort to investigate the case and the FBI for helping out with the DNA geneology, which he called an “important new technology and resource.”
Dade County is in the judicial circuit along with the counties of Catoosa, Chattooga and Walker.
While Wise won’t face justice, Arnt said the Chahorski family can go to bed knowing their loved one’s killer “is not out there on the prowl any more.”
(READ MORE: Dade County, Georgia, residents help animals and call for better services)
Farley said the outcome provides answers for the family — and serves as a warning to every killer, rapist and violent offender:
“The FBI will not give up,” Farley said. “It may take years or even decades, but we are determined, and we will continually seek justice for victims and their families.”
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.