Murder Mystery Ends with Body Unearthed
Rensselaer, NY (United States):
A murder mystery that plagued Porter County for more than six years came to an end Friday when investigators unearthed a body thought to be that of Lorraine Kirkley.
In a small, heavily wooded plot of land in rural Rensselaer, authorities discovered a body in a brown tarp wrapped with red straps -- the exact description given by former Westchester Township resident David Malinski, who was convicted of Kirkley's murder in 2000.
"At this point, what we have is what we think is the body of Lorraine," Porter County Prosecutor Jim Douglas said.
Although the body was described as "somewhat intact," investigators were not able to identify it with certainty. However, an additional, unexpected discovery -- a local newspaper dated July 23, 1999, two days after Kirkley was abducted -- make them confident a forensic autopsy will reveal it is indeed the former Valparaiso woman.
"Because of the fact of the date, we're fairly certain that now the body that is in the bag that we recovered in the tarp is in fact the body of Lorraine Kirkley," Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gensel said.
The discovery was made a few miles south of Rensselaer on a wooded site owned by Malinski's brother, Chuck Malinski. The property was owned by Malinski's father when Kirkley disappeared on July 21, 1999. It is about an 82-mile drive from Malinski's former home on Brummit Road.
"We'd like to recover the remains of Mrs. Kirkley and give her a decent, proper burial," Douglas said.
The tarp was discovered shortly before 4 p.m. after about eight hours of searching, which included calling in the help of cadaver dogs, heavy digging equipment and Malinski.
Malinski was transported from the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City to the site early in the afternoon after several attempts failed to locate the exact spot of Kirkley's body.
Malinski, who revealed the general whereabouts of Kirkley's body two weeks ago to prosecutors, was unable to pinpoint the location Friday, Douglas said.
Douglas credited the find to Stephen Nawrocki, who led a forensic anthropology team from the University of Indianapolis.
The initial plans called for Malinski to be present from the start of the search, according to police, but that approach was abandoned because officials thought they had enough information from him to locate the body on their own.
The team made the discovery by poking several test holes around a 150-square-foot area.
Oct 01, 2005
Elizabeth Holmes & Bob Kasarda, Times Staff Writers
Rensselaer, NY (United States):A murder mystery that plagued Porter County for more than six years came to an end Friday when investigators unearthed a body thought to be that of Lorraine Kirkley.
In a small, heavily wooded plot of land in rural Rensselaer, authorities discovered a body in a brown tarp wrapped with red straps -- the exact description given by former Westchester Township resident David Malinski, who was convicted of Kirkley's murder in 2000.
"At this point, what we have is what we think is the body of Lorraine," Porter County Prosecutor Jim Douglas said.
Although the body was described as "somewhat intact," investigators were not able to identify it with certainty. However, an additional, unexpected discovery -- a local newspaper dated July 23, 1999, two days after Kirkley was abducted -- make them confident a forensic autopsy will reveal it is indeed the former Valparaiso woman.
"Because of the fact of the date, we're fairly certain that now the body that is in the bag that we recovered in the tarp is in fact the body of Lorraine Kirkley," Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gensel said.
The discovery was made a few miles south of Rensselaer on a wooded site owned by Malinski's brother, Chuck Malinski. The property was owned by Malinski's father when Kirkley disappeared on July 21, 1999. It is about an 82-mile drive from Malinski's former home on Brummit Road.
"We'd like to recover the remains of Mrs. Kirkley and give her a decent, proper burial," Douglas said.
The tarp was discovered shortly before 4 p.m. after about eight hours of searching, which included calling in the help of cadaver dogs, heavy digging equipment and Malinski.
Malinski was transported from the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City to the site early in the afternoon after several attempts failed to locate the exact spot of Kirkley's body.
Malinski, who revealed the general whereabouts of Kirkley's body two weeks ago to prosecutors, was unable to pinpoint the location Friday, Douglas said.
Douglas credited the find to Stephen Nawrocki, who led a forensic anthropology team from the University of Indianapolis.
The initial plans called for Malinski to be present from the start of the search, according to police, but that approach was abandoned because officials thought they had enough information from him to locate the body on their own.
The team made the discovery by poking several test holes around a 150-square-foot area.
Oct 01, 2005
Elizabeth Holmes & Bob Kasarda, Times Staff Writers
