In July 1969, Stephanie Casberg was 17 years old and had just graduated from Riverside High School in Milwaukee. She was working at Marc’s Big Boy Restaurant at the time and had a bright future ahead of her. However, one Sunday night, she went to the Big Boy and was never seen alive again.
On July 9, two days after her disappearance, a man and his two sons were on a fishing trip when they spotted a human leg on the banks of the Root River.
When police searched the area, they found more body parts, including two arms and a young woman’s head wrapped up in a Milwaukee newspaper and stuffed in a large paper bag.
The dismembered body parts belonged to Stephanie Casberg. Her father helped identify her body. Authorities also found a pink blanket and Stephanie’s purse upstream from where her severed remains were.
In addition, a torn-up picture of Stephanie was discovered on the side of a road in Franklin, Wisconsin.
The medical examiner was unable to determine the cause of death. According to the report, Stephanie’s remains had been dismembered with a sharp object and removed at the joints.
She had two small puncture wounds in her neck. The autopsy stated that she likely died of a stab wound to the neck. She was estimated to have died between July 7 and July 8.
On July 21, Stephanie’s torso and one leg were uncovered five miles away from the original site. A dog on nearby property brought the pelvis bone home, and the owners notified authorities of the find.
Investigators questioned many people in Stephanie’s life. The majority of them were ruled out pretty quickly. The investigators learned that one of Stephanie’s coworkers had been attacked by a man about a month before Stephanie’s death.
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The coworker who was attacked said that she had been leaving the restaurant at around 12:30 a.m. when a man grabbed her from behind and pressed a sharp object against her neck.
She screamed and shoved the man, and the man threatened to cut her head off. Another coworker ran outside and struck the man with her purse, causing him to run away.
He was around 20 years old, five feet and eight inches tall, and had blonde or light brown hair. He was wearing cleated shoes and a light-colored jacket. Police did not confirm or deny that the attack was connected to Stephanie’s case.
Eventually, her case grew cold. In March 1988, a new suspect surfaced after a woman called to say that she believed her brother had been involved in the murder. She claimed that her family members, including her brother, had lied to the police during the initial investigation.
He was working at the restaurant with Stephanie the night she disappeared, and would have been 20 at the time of the murder.
He appeared to have moved to Hawaii just days after Stephanie’s body was found. But he had a clean record, so he was never questioned, and the lead dried up.
Since then, DNA tests have been performed, but no new evidence has turned up. The main hope for solving the murder mystery is that someone will come forward with information or confess to the crime.
Retired MPD lieutenant Steve Spingola believes that if the killer is still alive, he is in the Milwaukee area.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
