Michigan police say killer of teen in 1983 is now suspect in girl's 1982 murder; more victims possible

Four decades after a murder trail had gone cold, a man identified as the killer of a teenager in 1983 is now a suspect in a girl's 1982 murder, Michigan State Police said in a news release Thursday, and more potential victims could be identified. 

The body of 16-year-old Kimberly Louiselle was found on April 14, 1982, on a wooded trail 20 miles from where she was last seen. Her sister, Cindy Arthurs, wrote on social media that Louiselle was hitchhiking home, and "she made at least 4 phone calls to people who lived in South Lyon trying to find a ride the rest of the way home."

But she never returned. Arthurs said Louiselle was held for three weeks and "repeatedly raped, beaten and strangled." Investigators spent decades trying to find out who killed the 16-year-old with no leads. In the summer of 2022, the cold case unit at Michigan State Police partnered with students from Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice and reopened Louiselle's case.

Around the same time, investigators on the cold case team in Livingston County, Michigan were investigating the 1983 murder of 19-year-old Christine Castiglione, who was walking on a road when she disappeared. Investigators on the case received a grant in 2022 through Season of Justice, a not-for-profit that provides funding for advanced DNA testing.

The DNA samples were tested at Othram Inc., a private forensic laboratory in Texas, and in 2022, three separate familial DNA comparison tests identified Charles David Shaw, 26, as the suspect in Castiglione's killing, the sheriff's office said. The team entered his DNA profile into the national database called CODIS.

In June 2023, investigators found DNA from evidence in the Louiselle case and it matched the DNA found in Castiglione's case – and to Shaw. 

CBS Detroit reported that Shaw's relatives told authortities he lived just a few miles from Castiglione. The Sheriff's office also learned from Shaw's family that "he was a sex addict with a disturbing life who struggled with mental illness and his gender identity."

Shaw had several interactions with law enforcement beginning at a young age, CBS Detroit reported. In 1981 he was arrested for attempted abduction of a woman in a McDonald's parking lot. Shaw died in 1983, police said.

Investigators are asking anyone with information on crimes Shaw may have committed from the early 70s to his death in 1983 to contact Michigan State Police. 

In:
• DNA
• Michigan

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at [email protected]