It's been 10 years to the day since the Rev. Alfred Kunz was found murdered at St. Michael Catholic Church in Dane and a Dane County Sheriff's official today said investigators think they know who did it.
But they never got enough evidence to bring the person to justice.
"We certainly believe we were headed in the right direction," said Lt. Steve Gilmore, who heads the Sheriff's Office detective bureau. "We just never crossed the threshold where we could bring forth criminal charges."
Kunz, who was 67, was found on March 4, 1998, his throat slit, lying in a pool of blood at the parish's Catholic school. He had served there as pastor since 1967. The murder of the uncompromisingly traditionalist priest, who gained a regional following for his Latin masses and was known to perform exorcisms, devastated devoted parishioners.
"It was a shocker," said Eleanor Niesen, a life-long resident of St. Michael's parish who lived two doors down from the church. "You can't imagine why somebody would do that to a priest."
His murder also fueled speculation that animosities within the church -- stemming from his role in conducting internal investigations into allegations against other priests -- or his alleged relationships and affairs with women in the parish could have motivated the slaying.
Gilmore said those speculations added complexity to the case.
"Early on, there were a lot of theories by groups and or individuals as to motive, some within the Catholic Church itself because Father Kunz was revered in certain circles within the church."
He said he couldn't comment on the validity of those allegations, saying only, "They were thoroughly investigated."
Niesen, 83, said parishioners still speak of the murder and wonder if it will ever be resolved.
"They just don't seem to be able to find anybody, do they?" she said.
The case has generated about 10,000 pages of police reports, and police are holding onto about 1,000 items of potential evidence, he said. One investigator, Detective Kevin Hughes, still has the case and revisits the case regularly, Gilmore said.
And even as the investigation passes the 10-year mark, information continues to come in.
"We get information," he said. "We got information last week. However, most of that is information that we previously were aware of, or in some cases it's just the same individuals who either have an interest of an agenda of their own."
Gilmore said the investigation has focused on one person for the past couple of years. He would not say if that person is male or female. The person lived in the area at the time of the slaying, but Gilmore wouldn't say if the person still resided in the area.
He called the person a "person of interest," often a precursor to being named a suspect.
He said the evidence in the case is largely circumstantial.
"It's not direct evidence," he said. "It's not a confession. So you have to weigh the validity of that evidence. And believe me, it's all valid, but -- and I'm not a gambling person so I can't assign odds or percentages -- if this case were ever presented to a jury they would have to weigh that evidence and come to their own conclusion."
At this point, he said, prosecutors are not willing to take the chance.
"We just know they don't think we could win it in court is what it amounts to," he said.
Investigators lost hope of an easy resolution years ago, and evidence from the scene has been tested and retested both at crime laboratories and specialty laboratories in the private sector.
"It's been very frustrating because a lot of people, a lot of deputies and a lot of detectives, put in countless hours on this investigation and it just hasn't come to the conclusion that we're all seeking," Gilmore said.
There are no plans to let up on efforts in the case, but he said an arrest would likely result in more dogged police work to compile more evidence.
"We're not going to have somebody or something come forth that's going to give us a smoking gun or, in this case, a bloody knife," he said.
The case has an eerie similarity to another cold case that recently heated up, resulting in the conviction of 69-year-old Eugene Zapata in the 31-year-old murder of his wife, Jeanette, in Madison. After police reopened the case in 2004, they brought charges against Zapata, resulting in a mistrial last September, then a confession last month.
"Zapata wanted to clear his conscience and came forward with a confession," Gilmore said. "That may happen in this case, but I'm not going to hold my breath."
It may be worth trying to bring in forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee to re-exam the evidence, if he hasn't done so. _________________ Introibo ad altare Dei
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
