Carlsbad murder solved after 36 years. Here's what we know
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CARLSBAD ― The Carlsbad Police Department said new evidence, mainly DNA analysis, helped solve a 36-year-old cold case.
In July 1987, the body of Donna Sue Hyatt was found at her home on Elm Street in Carlsbad. On April 11, 2023, investigators with Carlsbad Police announced that they suspect Michael Ruff Wigley had committed the murder.
Wigley died in 1989 in a traffic accident.
Detectives Joey Landgraf and Tim Nyce with the Carlsbad Police Department were credited with the investigative work that led to the case's conclusion.
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According to a news release from the City of Carlsbad, the detectives worked with Texas-based private lab Othram Lab to test DNA collected from the crime scene against DNA collected from the exhumed remains of Wigley.
"That testing positively and definitively identified Wigley as the suspect responsible for taking the life of Donna Sue Hyatt in July of 1987," the news release stated.
Hyatt stabbed, strangled
According to news reports at the time of her death, Hyatt had been sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled.
According to the news release from the City, she had last been seen with "a tall, Caucasian male, leaving a nearby store on foot" around 9:15 p.m. the day of her death.
Hyatt's body was discovered by her daughter inside the family home on Elm Street around 11:40 p.m.
Carlsbad Police determined through "interviews with involved parties, witnesses and family members" that Wigley was in Carlsbad during the time of Hyatt's assault and murder.
Police said, in the news release, Wigley had been a suspect in two separate cases of sexual assault in Texas, one of which he was convicted and imprisoned for.
“We would also like to recognize the officers and detectives from 1987 who responded to the residence that tragic night. Their diligent work and dedication to the crime scene integrity and collection of potential evidence proved to be the difference in making it possible for officers to bring resolution to this case nearly four decades later," said Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway.
The City of Carlsbad provided financial assistance to get the DNA in the case tested and analyzed.
“It is our sincere hope that the recent efforts, and the efforts of those involved in 1987, can bring some small form of peace and closure to the family of Donna Sue Hyatt and the community of Carlsbad," Janway said.
Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JussGREAT.
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This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad murder solved after 36 years
