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Telegraph Herald - Dubuque, IA


 
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
29-year-old murder case reopened
Investigators hope forensics will reveal who killed a woman who was found dead in Hazel Green.

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 Anyone with any information on the Thomasina Dunivant homicide case is asked to contact the Grant County Sheriff's Department at 608-723-2157.

LANCASTER, Wis. -- Thanks to advancements in forensic science, investigators are reopening a 29-year-old Grant County homicide case.

The Grant County Sheriff's Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation have reopened the case of Thomasina Dunivant, whose body was discovered along Grant County Z in Hazel Green Township on Dec. 10, 1980.

Dunivant, of Rockford, Ill., was 22 when she was killed.

"This (case) had evidence that could be reanalyzed with technology available now that wasn't available 30 years ago," Grant County Sheriff Keith Govier told the TH.

On Monday, WMTV Channel 15, a Madison NBC affiliate, aired a report regarding details of the case in an effort to drum up information.

"We're hoping that there is somebody from 28 1/2 years ago who knows something," Govier said.

Govier said there were suspects at the time of the murder, but not enough information was available to make an arrest.

Grant County Detective Travis Klaas, an 11-year veteran of the force, is the lead investigator on the case. Govier said Klaas has been working with DCI on the case for the past six months.

"We're adding to (the case file) the updated forensic evidence and hopefully we can get one or two pieces of the puzzle that allows us to go forward with an arrest and a prosecution of the case," Govier said. "With the technology and forensics that are available today, it's amazing what they're able to do."


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