The murder of Stacey Lyn Chahorski
Rising Fawn, Dade County, Georgia · 1988
Overview
In December 1988 the body of a young woman was found along Interstate 59 in Dade County, Georgia, near the Alabama line, and for more than three decades she was known only as 'Rising Fawn Jane Doe.' In March 2022 forensic genetic genealogy identified her as Stacey Lyn Chahorski, a 19-year-old from Norton Shores, Michigan. Months later the same technology identified her killer as Henry Fredrick 'Hoss' Wise, a long-haul truck driver who had died in 1999 — making it the first known case in which both victim and killer were identified through investigative genetic genealogy.
How it was solved
Investigators sent the victim's remains to the DNA lab Othram, which produced a forensic genome profile, and FBI genealogists in Atlanta and Baltimore built a family tree that identified her as Stacey Lyn Chahorski, announced March 24, 2022. A separate male DNA profile recovered from the 1988 scene was then submitted to Othram, returning positive results in June 2022; GBI agents followed the genetic trail and collected relatives' DNA to confirm the killer as Henry Fredrick 'Hoss' Wise, announced September 6, 2022. Wise could not be prosecuted because he had died in a 1999 car crash at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina.
Sources
- Michigan Woman Missing for 33 Years Identified with Genealogy Technology
“Henry Fredrick Wise, AKA Hoss Wise, has been identified through genealogy DNA as Stacey Chahorski's killer.”
- Rising Fawn Jane Doe is Identified
“Rising Fawn Jane Doe has been identified as Stacy Lyn Chahorski of Michigan.”
- FBI Atlanta announces identification of Rising Fawn Jane Doe
“After 33 years, we have finally identified her as Stacey Lyn Chahorski of Norton Shores, Michigan. Now to find her killer.”
- Genealogy DNA is used to identify a murder victim from 1988 — and her killer
“Genealogy DNA is used to identify a murder victim from 1988 — and her killer.”
- Alleged Killer Of Recently Identified 'Rising Fawn Jane Doe' Also Discovered Via DNA Evidence
“Wise ... died in 1999 following a car crash at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina.”
- Georgia Strangulation Victim Identified as Stacey Lyn Chahorski
“She had been strangled to death.”
- Victim and suspect in 1988 murder case both identified through genetic genealogy
“the first of its kind nationwide, with both victim and suspect being identified in the same case through genetic genealogy.”