Bringing A Norwalk Murder Suspect To Justice, After 3 Decades

NORWALK, CT — The murder of 11-year-old Kathleen Flynn in 1986 remains one of Norwalk's darkest days, but with last week's arrest of suspect in the killing, the city's police department hopes some closure can be achieved.

At a somber press conference Tuesday afternoon at Norwalk police headquarters, members of the department and Mayor Harry Rilling - who was a lieutenant on the force at the time before becoming chief in the 1990s - spoke about the case and what it means to have captured a suspect after 33 years.

"For over 3o years, this department has continued to work to bring closure to what was one of the most shocking crimes this city has experienced," said now Chief Thomas Kulhawik, who had joined the department three years before the killing. "I recall as a young patrol officer the impact this crime had, not only on the community, but on the officers here as well.

"The goal has always been not only to identify the suspect, but gather sufficient evidence that would lead to a successful prosecution. I'm very proud to be standing here today as we have finally seen this investigation brought to fruition."

Last week, the suspect in the case, Marc Karun, 53, a former Norwalk resident, was arrested at his home in Stetson, Maine, and has been charged with murder with special circumstances and first-degree kidnapping. He was arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court Monday and remains in custody on $5 million bond.

Kathleen Flynn was walking home from Ponus Ridge Middle School on Sept. 23, 1986, when she was abducted, sexually assaulted and strangled to death. Her body was discovered in the woods near the school the next day.

Karun became a suspect a couple of weeks after the murder, based on a similar, though non-fatal, sexual assaults he had been accused of committing. Over the years, other suspects were considered and removed from the list, but Karun remained.

He went on to commit other sexual assaults, for which he served time in prison, but it took years for forensic testing to improve to the point that trace DNA evidence could be examined in enough detail to obtain a warrant for Karun's arrest.

Much of the work of bringing Karun to justice was done by Lt. Art Weisgerber, who doggedly stuck with the cold case for two decades before the arrest.

This is the fourth cold-case homicide that the Norwalk department has closed with an arrest in the past two years, Kulhawik said, which he said is a testament to the department's tenacious pursuit of such cases.

"Our investigators will continue to work diligently to see that justice is served," he said.

Mayor Harry Rilling echoed those sentiments, and said that he had spoken to Kathleen's mother and brother, and while they were not able at the press conference, they expressed their "extreme gratitude" to the department, to Weisgerber, to the community and to the press for the support over the years.

The Norwalk Police Department was in constant contact with the Flynn family over the years whenever a new lead developed, for which the family was very appreciative, Rilling said.

"This crime changed the way people lived in this city," Rilling said. "People no longer allowed their children to walk to school. People were afraid when they didn't hear from their children for a hour. It was a very, very difficult time."

Rilling added that the arrest of a suspect in this case should give the families of victims in other cold cases some hope. "We don't give up. A homicide, a murder case is never closed. We will continue to work diligently to make sure that all investigative leads are exhausted."

Karun is due in court on July 10.