Katharina Buczek
Michelle Koski, a seventeen-year-old high school student from Washington, was the victim of a heinous murder in 1990.
Her body was discovered on August 25, 1990, by a woman walking her dog in the woods, and autopsy reports revealed that Michelle had been assaulted, beaten, and strangled to death.
While the tragedy sent shock waves through the Washington community, though, Michelle’s case remained cold for over three decades.
Detective Jim Scharf and retired Detective David Heitzman spent thousands of hours working diligently on the case, but with no DNA matches in CODIS, they continued hitting dead ends.
That was until last week when Snohomish County Police finally identified a suspect– Robert A. Brooks.
Brooks was born on April 25, 1967, and was twenty-two years old at the time of Michelle’s murder. He had a criminal record and was released from prison just a few months before the tragedy.
Police believe that Brooks somehow knew Michelle, mainly since they lived only a few blocks apart.
Brooks’ connection to the case was identified through the use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy: which combines DNA testing with “traditional genealogical methods to establish the relationship between an individual and their ancestors.”
Snohomish County Police; pictured above is Michelle
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe.
