Mystery surrounded woman’s 1978 slaying in Oregon. Now, DNA brings closure
Nearly five decades after a 20-year-old woman was killed, her case has finally been closed, Oregon police say.
David Lawrence Atkeson, who died in 1989, was identified as a suspect in the 1978 slaying of Diana Kuhn, the West Linn Police Department said in a July 2 Facebook post.
After Kuhn’s case was reopened, Detective Sgt. Todd Gradwahl did a “comprehensive review of all available reports and investigative records,” police said.
At the same time, property and evidence technician Nicole Hedley reexamined “case materials, including physical evidence and photographs,” police said.
In doing so, a “critical piece of evidence” that had not been tested was found, police said.
Hedley submitted the evidence to the Oregon State Police Crime Lab for testing, which “proved instrumental in advancing the case and ultimately led to key breakthroughs,” police said.
DNA testing identified an initial person of interest from the case as a suspect: Atkeson, who would have been 33 in 1978, according to police.
The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and “strongly believes” that if Atkeson were alive today, he would have been indicted and stood trial on charges of sexual assault and aggravated murder in Kuhn’s case, according to police.
“This case serves as a powerful example of how persistence, teamwork, and modern investigative methods can breathe new life into old cases and deliver long-overdue justice,” police said.
West Linn is about a 10-mile drive south from Portland.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Mystery surrounded woman’s 1978 slaying in Oregon. Now, DNA brings closure."
