Cold Cases: Linda Rousseau, Jeanine Warden & Mary Schlais

Here are three cold case murders from the State of Minnesota stretching back to the 1970`s.  The first concerned the murder of 19 year old Linda Rousseau.  She had left her family home in the Midway district of St Paul, in May of 1971, going to a fast food outlet.  She never returned.  Her remains were discovered in a shallow grave in Hidden Falls Park, located off Mississippi Road Boulevard.  But the case ran cold after a couple of months, and remained that way for more than 35 years.  In January 2007, her brother, Terry, and her sister, Judy, convinced St Paul Police to reopen the case.  Many of the cold cases that are reviewed rely heavily on the continuing advancements in forensic technology, which the brother and sister were relying on.  Remarkably, they were allowed to read all the files on the case by Police, and started their own little investigation, drawing up a possible list of suspects.  One thing they do remember was their sister saying that she was concerned about a couple of people around at the time.

    The second case comes from 1977, and the murder of 17 year old Jeanine Warden.  It was in April of that year, on a rain swept Friday night, that Jeanine and a friend had been to a school banquet in Forest Lake.  They hitchhiked a lift from a passing motorist who dropped them off, not far from their Anoka County homes.  They said their goodbyes and parted company but it was thought that within minutes, Jeanine had been beaten severely and left in a ditch.  She was found by another motorist who immediately summoned authorities.  Jeanine lived on for six weeks in hospital before succumbing to her extensive injuries.  It seems that she was unable to give Police anything.  Was it the driver who dropped her and her friend off, then turned around, and saw her on her own?  Or was it another passing driver who was an opportunist?

    The third case concerns the murder of Mary Kathleen Schlais.  Mary was an Artist & Honours Graduate at the University of Minnesota, when she left her Uptown Minnesota apartment in February 1974.  She was travelling to Chicago to attend an Art Show, but never made it.  Within hours, her body was discovered in a snow bank just off a rural road, 90 miles away in Dunn County, Wisconsin.  Mary had been stabbed more than a dozen times.  Police had a witness who saw a man dump her body and then drive away.  However, this did not lead them very far.  Mary`s coat and purse have never been found.

    Information is a bit thin here but as ever, if anybody reading this, knows anything, pass it on to Police.  Families deserve closure.