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Woman charged in unsolved 1989 killing in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A woman has been charged in the death of an 18-year-old woman whose body was found nearly 30 years ago in Kansas City, Kansas.

The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office said in a release Thursday that 48-year-old Carolyn J. Heckert is charged with first-degree murder in the December 1989 death of Sarah DeLeon, who was found stabbed to death along some railroad tracks.

Heckert is being held on $1 million bond following her arrest Wednesday in Smithville, Missouri, which is about 20 miles north of Kansas City, Kansas.

Police have said new DNA collection and testing technology prompted investigators to reopen the DeLeon case in July 2014.

A lawyer for Heckert didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Gail Elieson, DeLeon’s mother, says she “quite pleased” charges were filed.

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