Hunt for lost relatives helps solve 50-year-old murder case

Mary Schlais was killed on her way to an art show and the only clue was a hat

- WORDS: GAIL SHORTLAND

Mary Schlais was pursuing her dream of becoming a professional artist in 1974. The 25-year-old had graduated with honours from the University of Minnesota after completing an art degree and was already exhibiting her sculptures, paintings and drawings in public. Mary also had a natural talent for languages and had studied abroad. She loved to travel and often hitchhiked to explore new places - which was very common in the 1970s.

On 15 February at 10.30am, Mary left her Minneapolis apartment with a large cardboard sign that read “Madison”. She was attending an art show in Chicago, Illinois, which was more than six hours’ drive away, and planned to hitchhike there. From Madison, she intended to change the sign and find another lift.

Mary’s housemate saw her leave. It was winter, with snow on the ground, so Mary was wearing a long tan furry coat, jeans, a maroon polo neck top and she was carrying a handbag. It would be the last time Mary was seen alive.

Three hours later, a witness called the police to say he’d seen a man throwing a body out of a car in Spring Brook, Wisconsin. The man then tried to cover it up but he fled when the witness drove past. It was around 90 miles from where Mary had started her journey. The witness went to investigate and found the body of a woman face down in a ditch.

Police officers went to the scene and found Mary’s body in the snow. Her coat and handbag were missing and would never be found. Mary had been stabbed at least 15 times in the upper body. She had cuts on her hands that suggested she had tried to fight back.

The police believed the killer had picked Mary up in Minnesota and driven directly to the dump site that was 90 miles away, killing her in the car. Her body was still warm.

Brutal stabbing