Diane Van Reeth Missing Person Case

On the morning of August 10, 1995, 35-year-old Diane Van Reeth left her home in Tucson, Arizona, intending to go to her job as a research coordinator at Tucson Electric Power. She was never seen or heard from again. Two days after she was last seen, her Ford Aerostar minivan was found abandoned in the 2800 block of east Fort Lowell Road. The keys were still inside the vehicle, but there were no signs of a struggle or any other evidence to suggest what might have happened to her. Authorities initially found no indication of foul play at the scene where the van was discovered.

The investigation into Diane's disappearance soon focused on her estranged husband, who was publicly known as Don Stecchi. Diane was in the process of divorcing him and was seeking custody of their two sons. Investigators discovered that 'Don Stecchi' was an alias for John Joseph Kalhauser, a man with a violent criminal past. He was wanted in Massachusetts for aggravated assault and attempted murder from a 1979 incident and had a previous conviction for manslaughter when he was a teenager. It is unclear if Diane was aware of her husband's true identity or his history. Shortly after Diane vanished, Kalhauser was extradited to Massachusetts to face the outstanding charges, for which he was sentenced to 29 years in prison.

Following Kalhauser's extradition, authorities classified Diane's case as a probable homicide. In 1999, Kalhauser pleaded no contest to the second-degree murder of his wife and received an additional 20-year sentence to be served concurrently with his time in Massachusetts. Despite the conviction, Diane's body has never been found. The case took another turn when investigators connected Kalhauser to another woman's death. When he was arrested in connection with Diane's disappearance, a photograph of a young woman was found in his wallet. In 2015, that woman was identified as Brenda Gerow, who had been missing since 1980 and whose unidentified body had been found in Pima County in 1981. While Kalhauser was a person of interest in Gerow's murder, the central mystery in Diane's case remains the location of her remains, leaving her loved ones without a final resolution. Her two children were ultimately adopted and raised by her cousin.
Last Seen: Aug 10, 1995

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Diane Van Reeth - Newspapers.com™

AZ - Diane Van Reeth, 35, Winterhaven, 10 Aug 1995