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A 46-year-old cold case, at last, has a suspect in custody after law authorization had the option to coordinate DNA from Algene Leeland Vossen, 79, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the 1974 wounding passing of Mabel Agnes Boyer Herman in her home in Willmar

WILLMAR — After 46 years, a suspect has been arrested within the death of Mabel (Mae) Agnes Boyer Herman on a chilly January day in Willmar.

Algene Leeland Vossen, 79, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, formerly of Willmar, was arrested Thursday at his range in Sioux Falls. he's awaiting extradition to Minnesota to face a charge of second-degree murder.

According to the warrant complaint about Vossen filed in Kandiyohi County District Court, Herman, aged 73, was found dead in her home on the evening of Jan. 27, 1974, after being stabbed approximately 38 times.

Any homicide would trouble people in Willmar, even today, but an elderly woman being so brutally killed in her home sent shock waves through the town.

Algene Leeland Vosse Compla... by West Central Tribune on Scribd

“It wasn’t a private fear that some guy was getting to leap out of the bushes and stab me,” said Brad Koenig, 65, who visited Ridgewater College at the time. “Because it had been an elderly woman, i feel it had been more disgust and shock that something like this might happen in Willmar.”

Investigators noted that no money seemed to are stolen or other property taken from the house , nor did anything within the house appear to be disturbed but her phone had been ripped out. A newspaper dated the previous day, Jan. 26, 1974, was within the front room and seemed to are read.

No weapon was found.

Koenig, who currently lives in Hector, said he had recently been talking about the case together with his brother.

“It’s just awful,” Koenig said. “(Our response was) just quite a universal ‘I hope they catch him.’”

Vossen became an individual of interest during the initial investigation, being first interviewed by investigators on Feb. 19, 1974, consistent with the complaint.

Vossen was known to local enforcement and had served a stint in Stillwater prison.

"(Vossen) was a bum," said Mike Gunter, 72, former West Central Tribune photographer. Gunter was also the first crime scene photographer for the Willmar local department at the time.

"He'd been into tons of trouble, petty thefts, et cetera," said Gunter.

Vossen had been stopped on Feb. 16, 1974, for a window peeping incident when he had told officers he picks his houses randomly and had no special desire for older women.

During the initial interview, Vossen said that since his release from Stillwater prison in May of 1973, he had been window peeping on multiple occasions. Vossen admitted he needed mental help, consistent with the narrative within the complaint.

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Vossen told investigators during the interview that he didn't know Herman and didn't know anything about the case aside from town talk and what was said within the newspaper and on the radio.

Vossen said he had been bar hopping in Willmar the nights of Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 in 1974 which he and his then-girlfriend, Lydia Olson, usually visited John's cabaret then the Veterans of Foreign Wars post and/or the American Legion in Willmar.
"I realize they investigated him pretty intensely," Gunter said. "They truly believed that he was presumably the guilty party, yet I simply don't feel that they had enough proof that they may put the keep going nail on the board."

Olson, who did clerical work on the West Central Tribune at the time, told an investigator on May 20, 1974, that Vossen came home around 9 p.m. Jan. 26, about an hour and half later than he usually came home, as they always had supper at 7:30 p.m.

She said that Vossen had been drinking but wasn't drunk.

Vossen and Olson would later marry in October 1974 in Iowa. She died in May of this year in Sioux Falls. Her obituary states they lived in Iowa before moving to Sioux Falls in 1993.

The investigation

Willmar’s captain at the time, Lyle Goeddertz, told the newspaper in April of 1974 the investigation had hit a brick wall.

Glenn Negen, 73, had been on the Willmar police for just six months when Herman's body was found.

Negen said he played a bit part within the investigation, mainly guarding the Herman house so police did not have to urge another warrant, but that there was some urgency within the department to catch the killer.

"The concern was the unknown part: can we have a murderer in our presence and is he getting to roll in the hay again?" Negen said.

On Dec. 21, 1979, an investigator traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, to satisfy with Vossen at Denny's restaurant.

According to the complaint, Vossen immediately wanted to understand what was happening and was "obviously nervous and distrustful (of the investigator)."

The investigator indicated he wasn't getting to arrest Vossen but wanted to speak with him about the homicide, mentioning that the department had a psychologist who was interviewing witnesses and suspects within the case.

Vossen declined to visit Willmar from Iowa for an interview with the psychologist, citing work obligations.

According to the complaint, Vossen told the investigator "there was no way in hell that he was getting to Minnesota or was getting to talk further about the case" which police would wish to urge a warrant for his arrest if they wanted to speak with him further.

Vossen then wanted to understand about any evidence within the case that made the officer visit Iowa to talk with him. The investigator declined to debate details, saying it might be "bad police work" to try to so.

The investigator noted that Vossen was "quite excited" during the interview, talking fast, visibly shaken, and mixing up his words.

The investigator also noted that Vossen's main concern appeared to be what new evidence the police had uncovered within the murder investigation regarding him, consistent with the complaint.
 

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Cold case

In June 2020, the Willmar local department, now headed by captain Jim Felt, found out a short-lived cold case review team that took another check out the Herman homicide, also as other cold cases.

During the investigation, they found that Vossen had previously been listed as a suspect in 1974, and he soon became a big suspect again. DNA evidence they found at the scene didn't come as a match for the other known suspects or those within the database.

Vossen’s DNA wasn't in any database or conspicuous.

Vossen was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and an inquiry warrant was obtained for Vossen’s DNA on July 7, 2020.

While officers obtained Vossen's DNA, Vossen told them that he didn't know Herman and had not been at her house.

He said the night she was killed, he was at the American Legion which there was no reason why his DNA would be found on Herman's clothing. He said he had no concerns with blood returning as his DNA.

On July 17, that sample police obtained from Vossen came back as a match for the 1974 homicide.

"When the department got the results of a match from the evidence to a suspect within the homicide, we were elated," Felt wrote via email. "Our constant thoughts were to undertake and obtain some answers to the Herman family, to be ready to clear people that had long been considered suspects although innocent, and to carry the suspect accountable. These results helped accomplish all of these things."

On Thursday, officers from the Willmar local department obtained a warrant for Vossen’s arrest on second-degree murder.

Vossen was arrested without incident at his range in Sioux Falls by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Sioux Falls local department and officers from the Willmar local department.

When Negen heard the news that Vossen was arrested, he said he was ecstatic.

"It was exhilarating," Negen said. "Really, really happy to listen to ."

Vossen is currently being held within the Minnehaha County, South Dakota, jail pending extradition proceedings.

Sources:https://www.wctrib.com