The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

DNA evidence solves student murder

Police have arrested a 45-year-old Michigan man who has been charged with the 1981 murder of SIUC student Susan Schumake.

Daniel Woloson of Brownstown Township, Mich., was working at the Quadrangle Apartments when he alledeglly raped and murdered 21-year-old Schumake in August 1981.

Schumake's body was found in a wooded area east of the Physical Plant between U.S. Hwy. 51 and the railroad tracks.

Woloson, who was arrested and incarcerated in Washtenaw County, Mich., was brought to Jackson County Jail in Murphysboro Thursday night. He appeared in court Friday to hear the charges made against him and potential penalties. A preliminary hearing has been set for Oct. 20.

Jackson County State's Attorney Michael Wepsiec said Woloson, who did not make a plea, was assigned a public defender and remains incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail on $500,000 bond.

Woloson is being charged under the statues of the time of the murder, and if found guilty, Wepsiec said Woloson will face a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Prosecutors could potentially ask for natural life or the death penalty, but Wepsiec said his office has not made a decision yet.

Carbondale Police Chief Steve Odum said Woloson, who was 22-years-old at the time of Schumake's murder, was working a maintenance job just east of the scene at the Quads. He was not a student of the University.

Odum said there was a stack of suspects for the murder of Schumake, but police were unable to make an arrest.

Police and Schumake's family believed convicted murderer John Paul Phillips committed the murder. After Phillips died in 1993 while on death row, police exhumed his body in 2001 to discover his DNA did not match the DNA left at the scene.

Police then turned back to other suspects including Woloson, who Odum said, "was considered a person of interest."

During Friday's press conference to announce Woloson's arrest, Wepsiec declined to discuss evidence and limited Sgt. Paul Echols' comments. Echols, who has been involved in Shumake's case since 1981, might be a witness in the trial, Wepsiec said.

However, Echols, who brought a framed picture of Schumake to the press conference, did say the arrest of Woloson has been a "good feeling" for him and Schumake's family."

Schumake's brother, John, said he is thankful to Echols for his persistence in his sister's murder case. He also said "the hand of God must have been involved," because Woloson was arrested on Sept. 23, Schumake's late father's birthday.

John Schumake told the Daily Egyptian that cigarette butts from a car Woloson was selling were used to analyze his DNA.

Odum said that he "can't say if that's true or not," but did say that he was "sure evidence like that will be presented," at the preliminary hearing.

City Manager Jeff Doherty said he was working on the railroad relocation program for the city at the time Schumake's murder.

Before the murder occurred, Doherty said the city was already planning on building an overpass to connect the dormitories to the campus due to safety reasons. He said after the overpass was built, it was dedicated as the Susan Schumake memorial.

Even after the 23-year-old unsolved case, Doherty said he was not surprised at the arrest, but pleased at the work of the police department.

Because of recent advances in DNA testing, Odum said two other murders that occurred around the same time as Schumake's are being looked into again. He said they are open cases, but not always active.

Odum said he remembers the night of Schumake's murder because he was working. He wasn't working on the case, but recalled police sending out memos asking for patrol officers to keep an eye out for possible suspects.

"Stranger murders are unusual," Odum said. "To us, it was a really big deal and now, it's still a big deal."

 

 

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