NORWALK -- Kathleen Flynn was just 11 years old when she disappeared while walking home from Ponus Ridge Middle School in Norwalk.
It was September of 1986. Police found her body about 100 feet from the path she walked along. According to police reports, the sixth-grader was strangled and sexually assaulted.
Last week, the Norwalk Police Department made a break in the cold case, arresting 53-year-old Marc Karun, who is charged with first-degree sexual assault and murder with special circumstances. He was extradited to Connecticut and on Monday, he appeared in Norwalk Superior Court. The judge kept his bond at $5 million, ordered him to surrender his passport and to wear a GPS monitor.
Norwalk police explained how, after 30 years, they were able to issue their arrest warrant.
“There is some conclusive DNA evidence,” said Norwalk Crime Scene Unit Lieutenant Art Weisgerber
Norwalk city officials said the Flynn family is feeling a sense of closure.
“They want to express their extreme gratitude to the Norwalk Police Department, to Lt. Weisgerber and to the press for respecting their privacy,” said Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling.
“Although cases may be cold, they are never closed,” said Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik.
A defense attorney for Karun declined to comment. He appears in Stamford Superior Court on July 10.