Man Charged In 1985 Pittsburgh-Area Slaying

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PA — A Pittsburgh-area man has been arrested in connection with a 41-year-old unsolved homicide case involving a 16-year-old teen.

James Kruczek, 61, of West Mifflin, was arrested for the stabbing death of Lottie Jo Gunn, 16, of Ohio, in 1985. He faces a single charge of criminal homicide.

On May 24, 1985, Gunn was found dead along Turner Valley Road in North Huntingdon. She has stab wounds along her abdominal region and her death was ruled a homicide.

An acquaintance of Kruczek’s told investigators that in the spring of 1985, Kruczek picked up the teen, killed her, and dumped her body in the Coulter area of North Huntingdon.

Clothing from the victim was sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Laboratory and a DNA profile was created on the victim’s profile.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for a sample of Kruczek’s DNA and submitted the sample to the lab which returned a match with the DNA found on the victim’s clothing.

“Through the use of modern technology and the relentless, unwavering efforts by detectives, I am thankful and relieved to announce an arrest in this unsolved homicide case,” Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a statement.

“Lottie Jo’s family waited an excruciating four decades for answers. While her parents are no longer with us to hear those answers, I am proud of the groundwork our detectives poured into this case in an effort to pursue justice.”