Darlene Krashoc Murder Case: Genetic Genealogy and Life Sentence

Darlene Krashoc, a 20-year-old Army specialist at Fort Carson, was raped, tortured, and strangled in Colorado Springs in the early hours of March 17, 1987. The murder of Darlene Krashoc went unsolved for 32 years until forensic genetic genealogy identified Michael Whyte, a retired Army sergeant first class who had been stationed at Fort Carson at the time. A Colorado jury convicted Whyte of first-degree murder on June 24, 2021, and he was sentenced the next day to life in prison without the possibility of parole.¹

What Happened on the Night of March 16, 1987

Krashoc was assigned to the 73rd Maintenance Company at Fort Carson. On the Monday evening of March 16, 1987, she went to Shuffles, a bar on South Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs, and spent the night drinking and dancing with soldiers from her unit. Her friends left early because it was a work night. The last person known to have seen her alive said she left the bar sometime between midnight and 1 a.m.²

Just before dawn on St. Patrick’s Day, Colorado Springs police found her body in an alley behind a Korean restaurant. She was naked from the ankles up, her pants tangled around one ankle. A black leather strap was knotted around her neck, and a wire clothes hanger had been wrapped around her mouth and neck. The autopsy documented rape violent enough to cause blunt force trauma to her liver and spleen, bite mutilation of her breasts, and strangulation.³ Investigators concluded she had been killed elsewhere and her body moved to the alley afterward.⁴

Why the Case Went Cold

Because Krashoc was an active-duty soldier, the Colorado Springs Police Department and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division worked the case jointly. Detectives collected DNA swabs from her body, her neck, and from cigarette butts at the scene, but forensic DNA analysis was still in its infancy in 1987 and none of the evidence identified a suspect.⁵

The case was formally reopened in October 2003, and the physical evidence went to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory for reprocessing. Analysts developed a partial DNA profile, but it did not match anyone in the FBI’s national DNA database, CODIS. Additional testing in 2004 and 2011 confirmed an unknown male profile on several items of evidence, still without a name attached.⁶

How Genetic Genealogy Identified Michael Whyte

In 2014, CID Special Agent Jessica Veltri, then stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, was assigned the case and began a full review. In May 2016 she sent 27 items of evidence back to the Army crime lab, which used newer methods to develop a stronger profile from Krashoc’s pants leg and body, designated “Unknown Person #1.”⁷⁴

In December 2016, CID engaged Parabon NanoLabs to perform DNA phenotyping, a technique that predicts a person’s appearance and ancestry from genetic material. It was the first time CID had used the method. By January 2017, Parabon produced composite “Snapshot” images of what the suspect likely looked like at ages 20 to 25 and thirty years later, along with predictions of European descent, hazel or green eyes, and brown or black hair. The composites were released publicly in March 2017.⁸

The images did not solve the case. The next step did. Investigators uploaded the suspect’s DNA profile to GEDmatch, a public database where people who use consumer DNA services can share their data. The search returned three distant relatives of the unknown man, at the second, third, and fourth cousin range. Parabon researchers built out family trees from both the maternal and paternal sides until the branches converged on a single name: Michael Whyte. Army CID pulled his military service records and confirmed he had been stationed at Fort Carson when Krashoc was killed and had lived about three miles from where her body was found.⁵⁶

Confirming the Match and the Arrest

Before making an arrest, Colorado Springs detectives needed a direct comparison. They put Whyte under surveillance, watched him eat at a fast-food restaurant, and collected a soda cup he discarded, along with DNA swabs from his car door handle. In June 2019, the Army crime lab reported that the DNA on the cup was consistent with the profile from the 1987 crime scene.³

On June 13, 2019, the Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force, the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, and Army CID arrested Whyte at his home in Thornton, a Denver suburb. It was the first arrest Colorado Springs police had made using forensic genealogy.⁴⁵

Who Michael Whyte Was

Whyte enlisted in the Army in 1979 and served for 19 years as a signal operations manager, retiring as a sergeant first class in 1998. He was stationed at Fort Carson from September 1986 to August 1987 and was 26 years old at the time of the murder.⁹ After the Army he worked as a senior network engineer at CenturyLink, married, and settled in Thornton. He had no criminal record before his arrest and was 60 when he stood trial.⁵

The Trial and the Life Sentence

Rape charges originally filed against Whyte were dismissed before trial because the statute of limitations had run.¹ Prosecutors pursued first-degree murder under Colorado’s felony-murder rule, arguing Krashoc died during a sexual assault Whyte committed.

At trial the state’s final witnesses included a DNA expert from the Army crime lab, who testified about the profiles matching both victim and suspect. The defense argued the evidence was compromised by labeling problems, missing items, and possible contamination, and asked the judge to dismiss the case. The judge denied the motion.¹⁰

On June 24, 2021, the jury found Whyte guilty of first-degree murder. The next day, Fourth Judicial District Judge Michael McHenry sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Given a chance to speak, Whyte told the judge: “I didn’t kill Darlene Krashoc. Nothing else.”¹¹

The Krashoc Family’s Response

Darlene’s parents, Paul and Betty Lou Krashoc, had never heard the name Michael Whyte before police called them in 2019 with news of the arrest. Paul described the moment: “We kind of looked at each other, started crying, and really couldn’t say much of anything for a few seconds. Time just kind of stood still.” Betty Lou told reporters she did not want Whyte executed: “I don’t want him to die. I want him to live. I want him to stay incarcerated for 32 years. After that I don’t care what they do with him.”¹²

At sentencing, Paul Krashoc addressed Whyte directly, saying his “rage and perversions” had caused the family “eternal pain, anguish and agony” and had robbed Darlene’s parents, three siblings, and extended family of her “laughter, good deeds and kind, compassionate heart.” He told the court: “I’m just glad we lived long enough to see it.”¹ Darlene’s sister, Rhonda Lilly, said: “I’m so happy they kept the DNA after all these years. The Colorado Springs PD and Army CID never forgot about her.”⁴

1
The Gazette. Colorado Army Vet Gets Life in Prison for 1987 Rape Murder of Fort Carson Soldier
2
Denver7. 32 Years After a Young Woman’s Killing in Colorado Springs, a Suspect Is in Custody
3
WFTV. Army Vet Sentenced to Life in Brutal 1987 Torture Murder of Female Fort Carson Soldier
4
U.S. Army CID. 1987 Cold Case Solved
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Colorado Sun. Colorado Cold Case: Michael Whyte, Darlene Krashoc
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KOAA. Man Found Guilty in Murder of Fort Carson Soldier
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Stars and Stripes. Army CID Colorado Cold Case Krashoc Whyte
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KKTV. Man Found Guilty Decades After Murder of Fort Carson Soldier Darlene Krashoc
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Fox13 Memphis. Army Vet Sentenced to Life in Brutal 1987 Torture Murder of Female Fort Carson Soldier
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Fox 21 News. Prosecution Rests in Cold Case Murder Trial
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CBS News Colorado. Michael Whyte Sentenced in 1987 Murder of Fort Carson Soldier Darlene Krashoc
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Fox 21 News. Victim’s Family Reacts to Arrest in 1987 Cold Case