Man arrested for sexually assaulting and killing Boeing employee in 1980 – South Arkansas Sun

KENT, Wash. (TCN) — A 65-year-old man was arrested in Arkansas, 44 years after he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed a 30-year-old woman in her condo.

The Van Buren County Sheriff's Office announced on August 20 that Kenneth Kundert was taken into custody in Arkansas in connection with the unsolved death of Dorothy “Dottie” Silzel. He will be extradited to Washington to face a charge of first-degree murder.

Silzel was last seen on the evening of February 23, 1980, leaving the pizza parlor where she worked. Her family and friends became concerned after not hearing from her and called Kent Police to conduct a condition check at her home. Police went to her home on February 26, 1980 and found her dead. The coroner determined her manner of death was homicide.

According to KCPQ-TV, Silzel had marks on her neck and a cape over her arm. She reportedly suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was strangled. Investigators also reportedly found semen on Silzel's body and cape.

KCPQ reports that Silzel's case stalled, but investigators continued to work on it over the years. In March 2022, a forensic genealogist from Identifiers International used a DNA sample and was able to find some possible matches. A year and a half later, in September 2023, investigators listed Kundert and his brother as the two possible suspects, but the brother was ruled out after investigators tested him. However, Kundert did not get tested.

On March 22, a Kent Police detective traveled to Arkansas and saw Kundert smoking a cigarette. After Kundert threw them away, the detective collected the cigarettes from the trash and sent them to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for testing. One of the butts produced a positive match to DNA found on Silzel's body.

Before her death, Silzel, the youngest of nine children, worked at Boeing in addition to the pizzeria.

Silzel's niece described to KCPQ what it was like to learn of Kundert's arrest: “At first it was outrage, then overwhelming joy that we finally have some closure. Hopefully we can convict this guy for what he did. He's a monster.”