DNA testing has led to the arrest of a Nebraska man who was repeatedly questioned over a long time within the 1978 stabbing dying of a lady whereas he was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany, authorities stated.
Tommy Molina, 69, was arrested within the western Nebraska metropolis of Gering on June 21, the U.S. Marshals Service in Omaha stated in an announcement Thursday. He is awaiting extradition to Germany to face a homicide cost.
German prosecutors within the Bavarian metropolis of Schweinfurt consider Molina, 24 on the time, was having an extramarital affair with 18-year-old Cornelia Hümpfer when she was killed April 20, 1978.
He was initially questioned days after the killing after which once more in 1996, after he informed his third spouse, whereas intoxicated, {that a} lady with whom he’d been having an affair had revealed she was pregnant and that he killed her, authorities stated in a grievance unsealed at his preliminary look June 30 in federal courtroom in Lincoln, Nebraska.
If extradited, Molina will face homicide costs in Germany that would result in no less than 15 years in jail. A date for his subsequent listening to has not been set.
His public defender within the extradition case didn’t instantly return a name Friday in search of remark.
The case is specified by the grievance, which seeks his extradition and contains paperwork from German prosecutors, the U.S. Army and the FBI.
The day after Hümpfer was killed, her physique was found on a roadside with 14 stab wounds within the neck and again. A witness stated she had seen a small automobile with a inexperienced license plate utilized by the American navy close to the place the girl’s physique was discovered. The car description matched the Fiat 124 Molina owned on the time.
German authorities questioned Molina 5 days after the killing however didn’t transfer ahead with costs. He stated he had been at dwelling along with his spouse that evening, and the spouse stated she couldn’t bear in mind the evening.
For years, investigators made little progress till U.S. navy authorities acquired new info, German prosecutors stated.
In 1995, based on the grievance, Molina’s third spouse contacted U.S. Army felony investigators in Fort Riley, Kansas, alleging that an intoxicated Molina repeatedly informed her he had killed a German lady with a knife whereas stationed in Schweinfurt. He informed her that he had been having an affair along with her, and that she had stated she was pregnant and supposed to inform his spouse.
Molina strongly denied involvement when questioned once more in 1996, and the investigation moved slowly after that.
Later, the provision of recent DNA know-how led investigators to reopen the file.
They acquired a blood pattern from Molina in 2020 beneath a federal search warrant and confirmed that genetic traces from the suspect have been on key elements of the sufferer’s clothes, German prosecutors stated.
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