HARTFORD, Conn. — The remains of a homicide victim found in Ledyard during the 1970s have now been identified after years of searching for a DNA match in multiple databases and ultimately getting in touch with the victim's daughter.
Connecticut State Police have been searching for the identity of the victim, a woman between 18-30 years old who used an alias, for over 50 years.
The woman and another victim were found in a shallow grave in Ledyard on May 30, 1974; a witness of a double homicide gave the location to state police at the time, saying the fatal shootings happened on Dec. 31, 1970.
In February 2024, a series of DNA tests and samples collected ultimately identified the unknown victim as Linda Sue Childers of Kentucky.
"It is gratifying to have helped identify Linda and, most importantly, give her family some answers," state police said.
The search for a DNA match started when case data was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) in 2011 and the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2012. Childers' dental X-rays and appearance descriptions were included in those entries.
Ten years later, DNA samples were added to GEDMatch Pro, a "forensic investigative genetic genealogy database."
The case was reopened this past January after Childers' sister was identified. The state's lead death investigator contacted Childers' sister and learned Childers had a daughter. The daughter then sent in a DNA sample, which confirmed Childers as the victim. Her family was also able to confirm Childers' whereabouts in the northeast in the years before her disappearance, state police said.
Both suspects of the homicide were arrested shortly after police found the victims' bodies and were convicted, state police said. Both suspects have since died.
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