West Virginia 1971 cold case solved — arrest shocks community | HO!!!!

Huntington, WV — In a turn of events that has stunned West Virginia and reverberated across the nation, the 1971 murder of Marshall University student Katherine Fitzgerald was finally solved after nearly five decades. The arrest of 78-year-old David Kowalsski, a respected retired teacher and community leader, has left residents reeling, forcing a reckoning with the unsettling reality that a beloved neighbor had lived among them with a dark secret.

A Quiet Morning Shattered

On a frigid morning in January 2019, six unmarked police vehicles converged on a modest home on Maple Street in Huntington. The sight of officers in tactical gear startled neighbors, many of whom had known Kowalsski for years as a dedicated educator, volunteer, and grandfather. The calm routine of his life was interrupted at 7:32 a.m. when officers knocked on his door and presented a warrant for his arrest in connection with the 1971 murder of Katherine Fitzgerald.

Witnesses described Kowalsski’s reaction as eerily composed, as if he had anticipated the moment. For the Fitzgerald family, the news brought a mixture of relief and disbelief. For the community, it was the beginning of a painful unraveling.

The Crime That Haunted Cabell County

On March 16, 1971, the body of 22-year-old Katherine Fitzgerald was discovered in her dorm room at Sycamore Hall, Marshall University’s satellite campus in Cabell County. She had been strangled with her own scarf. The scene was chilling in its orderliness—her textbooks open, a coffee cup still warm, and no signs of forced entry or struggle. The only clue: two coffee cups on her desk, hinting that she had shared a late-night drink with someone she trusted.

The murder shocked the tight-knit town of Milton, where violent crime was virtually unheard of. The investigation was exhaustive, involving interviews with friends, faculty, and staff. Yet, despite the efforts of law enforcement, the case quickly went cold. Generations of detectives would revisit the evidence, always hoping that new technology or a fresh lead might break the silence.

Katherine Fitzgerald: A Life Cut Short

Katherine Fitzgerald was born in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1948, the eldest of three children in a working-class family. Described as thoughtful, determined, and quietly ambitious, she dreamed of becoming a doctor—a rare aspiration for women at the time. After excelling in high school, she enrolled at Marshall University, eventually transferring to the Cabell County campus to focus on pre-med studies.

Her diary, recovered after her death, painted a portrait of a disciplined, compassionate young woman deeply committed to her studies and volunteer work. On the night she was killed, she had called her parents, made plans for her father’s birthday, and written in her journal about her goals for the coming week. The abrupt end to her promising life left her family and friends devastated—and searching for answers that would not come for decades.

The Investigation: Dead Ends and Determination

The initial investigation centered on three main suspects: a former boyfriend, a university maintenance worker, and a chemistry professor. Each was eventually cleared through alibis, lack of evidence, or forensic inconsistencies. The crime scene yielded little: fingerprints on one cup (Katherine’s), the other wiped clean; fibers and skin samples collected from beneath her fingernails; and a locked door with no signs of forced entry.

Detectives theorized that the killer was someone Katherine knew, someone who had entered her room willingly. The evidence was preserved meticulously, even as forensic science lagged behind the needs of the case. Over the years, the Fitzgerald family became tireless advocates for justice, founding an organization for relatives of unsolved murder victims and lobbying for better evidence preservation.

Technology Catches Up

By the late 1990s, advances in DNA analysis renewed hope in solving cold cases. The skin samples from beneath Katherine’s fingernails were repackaged using modern techniques and stored in temperature-controlled facilities. In 2018, Detective Sarah Keller, a specialist in cold case methodology, petitioned for advanced DNA testing using genetic genealogy—a revolutionary approach that had recently cracked cases like that of the Golden State Killer.

In early 2019, the preserved DNA was sent to Parabon NanoLabs, where forensic genealogists extracted a profile and compared it against commercial ancestry databases. The process identified distant relatives and, through painstaking family tree reconstruction, narrowed the suspect pool to seven men. One name stood out: David Kowalsski, a retired chemistry teacher who had once tutored Katherine.

The Arrest: A Community in Shock

Covert DNA collection from a discarded coffee cup confirmed the match: Kowalsski’s DNA was found beneath Katherine’s fingernails, with a probability of 99.9998%. On January 15, 2019, police arrested Kowalsski at his home. The news spread rapidly, with local media and national outlets descending on Huntington for the arraignment.

The shock was palpable. Kowalsski had been a fixture in the community—serving on the city council, coaching youth sports, and earning accolades for his service. He had attended Katherine’s funeral, donated to her scholarship fund, and even collaborated with her mother on campus safety initiatives. The revelation that he was the killer upended the community’s sense of trust and safety.

The Motive and the Cover-Up

Investigators believe Kowalsski developed an inappropriate fixation on Katherine, whom he tutored in chemistry. On the night of the murder, he visited her dorm under the pretense of discussing academics. Something—likely a rejection—triggered his violent response. After the crime, Kowalsski meticulously wiped down surfaces, removed evidence, and exited the building during a shift change in security.

For nearly 50 years, Kowalsski maintained his innocence, building a life of respectability and service. Searches of his home revealed a hidden trove of newspaper clippings about the case, and the missing coffee cup from Katherine’s room, concealed behind a false panel in his basement workshop.

The Community Response

The arrest divided Cabell County. Some residents struggled to reconcile their memories of Kowalsski as a mentor and neighbor with the reality of his crime. Others felt betrayed by decades of deception. Marshall University quickly removed his name from scholarships and established a new fund in Katherine’s honor. The city council rescinded his citizen of the year award.

For the Fitzgerald family, the resolution brought bittersweet closure. Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Katherine’s mother, received the news from Detective Keller at age 92. “I knew I would live to see this day,” she said quietly. Margaret Fitzgerald, Katherine’s sister and a retired prosecutor, spoke for the family at the sentencing: “We now know who took Catherine from us. But no arrest or conviction can restore the decades of life stolen from my sister or our family.”

Justice at Last

On March 15, 2019—exactly 48 years after the murder—Kowalsski accepted a plea deal, admitting guilt in exchange for a life sentence without parole. At the sentencing, he addressed the court: “I have lived two lives, one visible to all, one known only to myself. I cannot undo what I did to Catherine Fitzgerald.”

The case is now taught in forensic science programs and law enforcement academies nationwide, a testament to the power of perseverance and scientific progress. The site of Katherine’s former dorm is now a memorial garden, ensuring her legacy endures.

A Community Changed

For Huntington and Cabell County, the resolution of the Fitzgerald case is a reminder of the fragility of trust and the importance of vigilance. The community continues to grapple with the duality of a man who was both a mentor and a murderer, and the decades of pain endured by the Fitzgerald family.

As cold cases across the country are revisited with new forensic tools, the story of Katherine Fitzgerald stands as a beacon of hope—and a cautionary tale about the darkness that can hide in plain sight.