Owatonna man arrested in connection with 50-year-old murder case

OWATONNA, Minn. (KTTC) – After a fifty-year investigation into a Minneapolis woman whose body was found in Dunn County, Wisconsin, in 1974, an 83-year-old from Owatonna has been arrested.

Jon Keith Miller was arrested on November 7 and charged with the first-degree murder of Mary Schlais.

According to court documents, Wisconsin investigators received a lead in the murder case in October 2024 after DNA analysis linked Miller to the incident.

When investigators obtained the DNA evidence, investigators said Miller admitted he picked up Schlais while she was hitchhiking in Dunn County, Wisconsin, and stabbed her to death 50 years ago.

Miller is currently being held at the Steele County Detention Center pending extradition to Wisconsin.

The indictment suggests Miller should be sentenced to life in prison.

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