Oct 14, 2013 3 min read

It would be so easy for law enforcement to give up on a 40-year-old murder case when over the course of those four decades little, if any, progress was made to solve the tragic slaying and sexual assault of 8-year-old Debra Lynne Makel of Rices Landing in Greene County.

Evidence, whatever there was of it, becomes stale, and recollections and memories of people who may have had some knowledge of the disappearance and discovery three days later of the young girl’s body fade over time.

We must remember that in 1973, forensic science, specifically DNA testing, did not exist.

Of course, now it does, and a cold-case detective working out of the Uniontown barracks of the state police believes advancements in science create a strong opportunity to discover who killed the young girl.

The nightmare for Duane and Charlotte Makel, Debra’s parents, began Oct. 5, 1973.

Debra rode the school bus less than two miles from Dry Tavern Elementary School to Ferncliff Road in Rices Landing. From there it was a short walk to her home, situated at the end of Hoy Street, a dead end. Investigators placed the time at around 3:45 p.m.

There were only four houses visible from the Makel residence in 1973. It was a warm fall day. Her brothers did not ride the bus, choosing to walk home to sell magazine subscriptions for a school fundraiser.

Charlotte and Duane were both at work; he at Avella High School, where he taught at the time, and she at a sewing factory. The boys arrived home before their parents to find their sister’s books, coat and house key on the table. She was nowhere in sight.

The Makels drove around the neighborhood, all over Rices Landing and kept thinking this did not make any sense. They could not get the questions of “Why?” and “Who?” out of their minds.

But two days after she failed to return home from school, Debra’s body was found near an old distillery foundation, less than 200 yards from her home. She was covered by branches and brush.

Last week, cold-case Detective John Marshall, looking over four thick binders containing information, photographs and interviews, said matter-of-factly that in 2003, other detectives investigating the murder sent evidence from the crime scene to a police lab where the killer’s DNA was extracted. As Marshall said, “We have a DNA profile of somebody.”

We can only assume that in the last 10 years, potential suspects were screened as possible matches. Apparently, investigators came up empty. But Marshall seems determined to put an end to this case that has spawned rumor, conjecture and even suggestions of a cover-up.

He said he plans to reopen all of the interviews in the investigation and will try to get consent from certain individuals for a DNA swab.

We hope the Makels will soon get the answers they have been waiting for.

The former investigators in this case undoubtedly did all they could with the limited resoures available to them at the time.

We can understand why, when leads don’t pan out, frustration sets in and a case such as this ends up on the so-called investigative back burner.

But considering Marshall’s commitment to finally stamp this case “closed,” we sense this cold case is beginning to get warmer.