--- title: "Army investigators doggedly worked to solve a soldier’s murder 3 decades later" date: "2026-08-18" modified: "2026-08-18" authors: - name: "Stephen Ruiz" job_title: "Editor, Writer" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/stephen/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/army-investigators-doggedly-worked-to-solve-a-soldiers-murder-3-decades-later/" categories: - "Army" - "History" tags: - "Army" - "Crime" - "Military History" --- # Army investigators doggedly worked to solve a soldier’s murder 3 decades later ![Army cold case]() *Army veteran Michael Whyte was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for killing soldier Darlene Krashoc near Fort Carson, Colorado, 34 years earlier. (U.S. Army)* During one of the last times that Darlene Krashoc spoke with her mother, she mentioned possibly reenlisting in the U.S. [Army](). That conversation left Betty Lou Krashoc with the impression that her daughter was enjoying her assignment to Fort Carson in Colorado. In a follow-up phone call, though, Darlene said something was going on at the military base. Her concerned mother asked for more details. “I can’t tell you right now,” Darlene replied, according to a [2019 article]() from The Colorado Sun’s digital newsroom. **Also Read:** [**My spouse is employed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. This is what’s really happening**]() A week later, early on St. Patrick’s Day in 1987 in Colorado Springs, police discovered Krashoc’s body near a dumpster behind a Korean restaurant. Whether Darlene’s murder had anything to do with whatever troubled her will never be known, but Paul and Betty Lou Krashoc were grief-stricken. They desperately sought answers for what happened to their daughter. ### “My Worst Fear Came True” ![Fort Collins, Colorado.]() *A senior airman surveys a mountainside at Red Devil Drop Zone at Fort Carson, Colorado, October 25, 2022. (U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. River Bruce)* Paul Krashoc served in the Army during the [Vietnam War](), so he knew what being in the military entailed. When Darlene expressed interest in joining, he was [against the idea](). So was her mother. Darlene, though, was resolute about becoming a soldier. She served as a wheeled mechanic in the 73rd Maintenance Company at Fort Carson. On the night of March 16, 1987, she and other members of her unit went out to a popular local hangout. When her companions left, Krashoc wasn’t ready for the night to end. She remained behind. That was the last time anyone, except the murderer, saw her alive. When police officers on routine patrol stumbled across her body, she was partially nude. Investigators later determined she was [sexually assaulted, tortured, and strangled]() with a coat hanger and leather straps. They also believed that the killer discarded Krashoc’s lifeless 5-foot-1, 120-pound body where police found it, but they murdered her somewhere else. “My worst fear came true,” [Betty Lou Krashoc said](). The Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and the Colorado Springs Police Department compiled evidence and conducted interviews. Despite their efforts, none of those early leads led to an arrest. The case of the slain Fort Collins soldier went cold for more than a decade. ### Composites Then and Now ![Army cold case]() *Composites of how the suspect in Fort Carson soldier Darlene Krashoc's murder probably looked at the time of her killing (left) and how he probably looked 25-30 years later. (U.S. Army)* It stayed that way until October 2003 when investigators reopened the case. They were dogged in pursuit of their suspect, but it was a slow, sometimes frustrating process. They caught a break when Jessica Veltri, a young CID forensic science officer, joined the team in September 2014. A recent graduate of George Washington University in the nation’s capital, Veltri was stationed at the 22nd Military Police Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. She had a special interest in tackling cold cases. Veltri was eager to get involved in the Krashoc case. In May 2016, she provided the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Georgia [with 27 pieces of evidence]() for DNA testing. The Army CID hired a private biotechnology firm, Parabon NanoLabs, later that year to analyze that evidence. The company employed [a process called phenotyping](), which takes DNA samples and develops a predictive list of physical traits and ancestral links. The Krashoc murder marked the first time that the [Army CID had used phenotyping](), and what investigators learned gave them momentum they previously lacked. Phenotyping provided authorities with enough information to provide two snapshots of the suspect. One was how they might have looked at the time of the murder. The other was how they might look in the present day. At that time, the Army also offered a $10,000 reward for anyone with credible information relating to the case. Parabon then began the tedious task of obtaining genealogical details with the help of GEDmatch. Familial links finally led Army investigators [to their suspect]() in May 2019. “That was a pretty memorable moment…,” said Jennifer Coslin, [who had worked on the case since 2005](). “We were able to put a name to the unknown profile. I wasn’t sure we would ever get to this point.” ### The Suspect Was an Army Veteran https://youtu.be/odOrGR1bo0c DNA evidence concluded that retired Sergeant First Class Michael Whyte was the prime suspect in Krashoc’s murders. Investigators had to be sure, though. The Army CID discovered that Whyte served at Fort Carson from September 1986 to August 1987, so he was assigned to the base when Krashoc was murdered. At the time, he also [lived a few blocks]() from the restaurant where police found the soldier’s body. Still, investigators needed more to make an arrest, so Colorado Springs police began tracking Whyte’s movements. One day, Whyte ate at a fast food restaurant and discarded his cup. When he did, authorities retrieved it for DNA testing. The results came back as a match. They arrested Whyte, who served 19 years in the Army before reentering the civilian world, on June 13, 2019. Until that point, Whyte had no criminal record, nothing to indicate he was capable of such a heinous act. Charged with first-degree murder, Whyte stood trial in June 2021 in Colorado Springs. The 60-year-old Army veteran maintained his innocence on the stand. “I did not murder Darlene Krashoc,” [he asserted](). “I did not.” In the jury’s eyes, the evidence said otherwise. They convicted Whyte, who received a sentence of life in prison without parole. ### She Wanted to Go Airborne ![Army cold case]() *Before her death, Darlene Krashoc told her mother that she wanted to go to Army Airborne School. (U.S. Army/Spc. Kimberly Gonzalez)* Betty Lou Krashoc testified at Whyte’s trial and said her daughter planned to attend [Army Airborne School](). She never got the chance, but at least, her parents were in the courtroom to witness the judicial system decide Whyte’s fate. The Krashocs wondered whether they would live long enough to see that day. While their daughter’s case remained cold for so long, they did everything possible to keep it alive. They even traveled from their home in Maryland to Colorado and put up fliers in 1996, hopeful of reigniting public interest in the case. The fliers included a photo of Krashoc [and the following words](): “I was only 20 years old. They took my dignity, my pride\[,\] and my jacket. Then, without mercy, they took my life. If you know something and think it’s insignificant, you’re mistaken. It’s probably the missing link.” It took 32 years, but at long last, all of the links in the Krashoc murder case fit together. **Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty** **•** [**Why ‘the father of the Air Force’ was court-martialed**]() **•** [**The story of the only US soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War**]() **•** [**The cross country Army convoy that showed the US its roads stunk**]() ## Author Stephen Ruiz is an editor and writer at We Are The Mighty. His writing revolves mostly around military history and sports stories, but it can branch into other areas. Stephen has more than 35 years of journalism experience. His career began with stints at The Ledger newspaper in Lakeland, Florida, and The Kansas City Star in Missouri, but most of his time was spent on the copy desk at the Orlando Sentinel. After accepting a buyout from the Sentinel in 2020, Stephen worked at Military.com for 4½ years as a content editor and writer. He joined the We Are The Mighty staff in December 2025. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()