In the late summer of 1978, East Lansing, Michigan, was terrorized by a series of violent attacks. Among the victims was 23-year-old Karen Sue DeWitt, who was abducted and murdered on September 14, 1978. Her death later became linked to a pattern of assaults and killings targeting young white women in the area.

Donald Gene Miller, a former Michigan State University student and youth minister, was arrested after he attempted to rape and murder 14-year-old Lisa Gilbert on August 16, 1978. The Gilbert siblings’ descriptions led to his arrest within hours. Investigators subsequently connected Miller to multiple unsolved crimes, and he admitted in a plea bargain to the manslaughter of four women, including Karen Sue DeWitt, and led police to victims’ remains; DeWitt’s body had already been found before that admission.

Miller was sentenced to 30 to 50 years for the Gilbert attack and an additional 10 to 15 years for the manslaughter counts and was regarded as a continued threat; he became eligible for parole at a later date. Does anyone have information about Karen Sue DeWitt’s life or her last known movements in East Lansing before September 14, 1978?