(La Porte County, IN) - Authorities say the murder case of a LaPorte woman found dead in the trunk of her car in 1981 has been solved through DNA testing.

 

The alleged killer, Carl “David” Phillips, was 37 at the time.

 

LaPorte County Police Chief of Detectives Andy Hynek said there was no known connection between Phillips and the victim, Juanita Boyd, who was last seen at a bar in LaPorte.

After failing to return to her State St. home that night, police said the 31-year old Boyd was reported missing.  Her body was found six days later in the trunk of her 1970 Pontiac Catalina discovered stuck in the mud of a dirt road off Forrester Road near County Road 700 West in Coolspring Township.

 

She had been strangled and stabbed.

 

“Although nothing can undo the tragedy of her death or replace the years spent without answers, the hope is identifying the individual responsible provides some measure of closure,” Hynek said.

 

“Investigators worked tirelessly on this case which, eventually became cold.  Although cold, it was never forgotten about,” he said.

 

DNA testing had not been developed yet when the murder occurred and didn’t start to become a critical law enforcement tool until the early 90’s.

 

After reopening the case in 2013, Hynek said a sample of semen taken from an undergarment worn by the victim was used by a private laboratory specializing in genealogy to develop a DNA profile of the still unknown suspect.

 

There were no matches with any DNA stored in various data bases.

 

However, DNA testing became advanced enough to identify suspects in major crimes through matches with genetic material taken from their relatives.  In October, Hynek said the DNA profile of Phillips matched the genetics of an immediate family member.

 

It was also determined that Phillips was familiar with the remote location where the victim was found by growing up and having relatives still living in that area.

 

In the mid-1970’s, police said Phillips was convicted of multiple armed purse snatchings in the Lafayette area.  He was convicted of burglary in LaPorte County in 1984 and released on parole in 1991.  Since then, Hynek said there are no records of Phillips being arrested for any other crimes.

 

Boyd was a county government employee working at the courthouse in LaPorte at the time of her slaying.  She left behind a nine-year old son.

 

“Had he been alive today, the La Porte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would have charged him with murder,” said LaPorte County Police Capt. Derek Allen.