Scott Weinberger

That airing of the documentary put pressure on police to link Lindahl to Kathy's murder or rule him out completely.

That airing of the documentary put pressure on police to link Lindahl to Kathy's murder or rule him out completely.

And for context, the MVAC system is a high-tech wet-dry vacuum designed specifically for extracting DNA from porous material like clothes.

And for context, the MVAC system is a high-tech wet-dry vacuum designed specifically for extracting DNA from porous material like clothes.

Ryan told the instructor about Kathy's case. The instructor connected him with a DNA expert who told him about a private lab in Florida that did impact testing he had learned about.

Ryan told the instructor about Kathy's case. The instructor connected him with a DNA expert who told him about a private lab in Florida that did impact testing he had learned about.

And with nowhere else to go with the now decades-old cold case, Ryan decided to move forward with testing at DNA Labs International. The stakes were incredibly high.

And with nowhere else to go with the now decades-old cold case, Ryan decided to move forward with testing at DNA Labs International. The stakes were incredibly high.

But they faced more than one hitch. The first was the price tag. It was a private DNA lab and the cost of testing would be over $20,000, a higher price than many small police departments could afford. Then I presented this to the chief and I'm like, hey, chief, here's the bill.

But they faced more than one hitch. The first was the price tag. It was a private DNA lab and the cost of testing would be over $20,000, a higher price than many small police departments could afford. Then I presented this to the chief and I'm like, hey, chief, here's the bill.

Not many police agencies in the U.S. has a dedicated cold case unit. They're expensive to run, and you're taking detectives out of the rotation, which may be investigating crimes which occur daily, and then asking them to spend months, if not years, working on multiple unsolved crimes. And as you say, then there's the cost of the technology.

Not many police agencies in the U.S. has a dedicated cold case unit. They're expensive to run, and you're taking detectives out of the rotation, which may be investigating crimes which occur daily, and then asking them to spend months, if not years, working on multiple unsolved crimes. And as you say, then there's the cost of the technology.

I mean, advanced DNA testing is really, really expensive. So those are barriers that many agencies have to pass over. And unfortunately, you know, these cold cases where you wish you had 100 detectives working on these cold cases, but it's not feasible. So with Kathy's case, the high price forced Ryan and the DNA expert to think strategically about which of the evidence to test.

I mean, advanced DNA testing is really, really expensive. So those are barriers that many agencies have to pass over. And unfortunately, you know, these cold cases where you wish you had 100 detectives working on these cold cases, but it's not feasible. So with Kathy's case, the high price forced Ryan and the DNA expert to think strategically about which of the evidence to test.

Seasons of Justice provided a grant to the North Aurora Police Department to help pay for the testing, making the testing more affordable for the department, which helped get this important work underway.

Seasons of Justice provided a grant to the North Aurora Police Department to help pay for the testing, making the testing more affordable for the department, which helped get this important work underway.

While Kathy's evidence was being tested specifically for Lindahl's DNA, the department needed to plan for the scenario that it wasn't a match, in which case it would need to be entered into CODIS.

While Kathy's evidence was being tested specifically for Lindahl's DNA, the department needed to plan for the scenario that it wasn't a match, in which case it would need to be entered into CODIS.

It may sound like a simple enough task, but in reality, it was anything but. They could ship the evidence, but what if it got lost in transit? They could fly to Florida with the evidence, but that brought up other complications.

It may sound like a simple enough task, but in reality, it was anything but. They could ship the evidence, but what if it got lost in transit? They could fly to Florida with the evidence, but that brought up other complications.