Confessed killer Timothy Krajcir named lead suspect in 1978 Marion, Ill., murder

MARION, Ill. -- The Marion Police Department has reopened a cold case after finding significant evidence linking the man allegedly responsible for five murders of Cape Girardeau women to a 1978 rape-murder in Marion.

Police held a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce that Timothy Krajcir is their lead suspect in the case. Krajcir was named earlier this week as a suspect in five Cape Girardeau murders.

Marion police are also investigating three unsolved sexual assaults and robberies in Williamson County, Ill., in 1982.

The Marion murder victim is Virginia Lee Witte, 51, murdered in her Lakeview Drive home in the early afternoon hours of May 12, 1978. Her husband, David F. Witte, discovered the murder shortly after 1 p.m. that day.

Under Illinois legal procedures, Marion police said they can't state whether or not the information that caused them to reopen the case is linked to a confession from Krajcir; however, "he has been interviewed," said Marion police Detective Tina Morrow.

Morrow said Witte's two sons were "very, very happy" when she called them to give them the news, but they're not ready to talk to the media.

Lt. Paul Echols of the Carbondale, Ill., police department contacted Morrow after finding similarities between the Witte murder and the murder of Southern Illinois University student Deborah Sheppard in Carbondale in 1982. Krajcir pleaded guilty to raping and murdering Sheppard on Monday.