Solved Case — Convicted The Murder of Macy Grace Ditty...
View Full CaseSolved Case
The Murder of Terry Dolowy
● Awaiting Trial
Female Victim
Wisconsin
Terry Ann Dolowy | 1960–1985
| Full Name | Terry Ann Dolowy |
| Age | 24 |
| From | River Forest, Illinois |
| School | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse — Senior |
| Work | Bar Manager — Piggy's Restaurant |
| Fiance | Russell Lee |
| Laid to Rest | Calvary Cemetery, Steger, Cook County, Illinois |
The Victim
Terry Ann Dolowy
Terry Ann Dolowy was 24 years old and in her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, completing her degree while working full time as bar manager at Piggy's Restaurant, an upscale restaurant in La Crosse. She lived with her fiance, Russell Lee, at lot 120 of the Bostwick Valley Trailer Court in Barre Mills, Wisconsin. She was a native of River Forest, Illinois, and had a poodle named Suzie.
Terry played pool competitively in local tournaments alongside Russell and their social circle. She was a capable and hardworking young woman with a full schedule, balancing her class load during the day with full-time work most evenings. She was close to finishing her degree. She had a future being built in the La Crosse area.
She was murdered on Valentine's Day 1985. Her body was found five days later in a culvert in Vernon County. Her head has never been found. Her dog Suzie has never been found. Terry is buried in the Dolowy family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Steger, Cook County, Illinois.
01
Background
What We Know
On the night of February 14, 1985, Terry Dolowy finished her shift at Piggy's Restaurant at approximately 1:00 a.m. and drove home to the Bostwick Valley Trailer Court in Barre Mills. A neighbor, Kurt Foss, who lived at lot 177 — three lots from Terry's home at lot 120 — later told investigators he saw a vehicle arrive at her property around 4:30 a.m. and witnessed two men muscling Terry into a Chevrolet Caprice or Impala. At approximately 8:00 a.m., Terry's fiance Russell Lee returned from his overnight shift at the Radisson La Crosse Hotel to find the front door slightly ajar. All of Terry's personal belongings were inside. Her purse was at home. Her car was there. Terry and her poodle Suzie were gone. Russell contacted police immediately.
Five days later, on February 18, 1985, two men driving along Mohawk Valley Road in the town of Bergen, Vernon County, spotted a small fire in a roadside culvert and stopped to investigate. They found Terry's body still burning. Gasoline had been used as an accelerant. Her body had been decapitated. One hand survived the fire largely intact, allowing investigators to fingerprint her and confirm her identity. An autopsy was conducted on February 19, 1985 by pathologist Dr. Ruth Dalton at St. Francis Medical Center. The head was not available for examination. Dr. Dalton was unable to determine a cause of death, noting no evidence of the cause within the internal organs and stating that without the head she could not provide an exact determination. She also noted the absence of changes consistent with death by freezing, though she could not fully rule it out.
A paint chip was found in a sheet wrapped around Terry's body, consistent with the interior of a vehicle trunk, suggesting she was transported to the disposal site. Semen was recovered during the autopsy and preserved by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory. Both pieces of evidence were held for decades. Russell Lee was investigated and ruled out as a suspect through DNA comparison. Terry's remains were exhumed in December 2007 in hopes of recovering additional evidence using more advanced technology.
02
Case Timeline
How It Unfolded
February 10–11, 1985
Russell Lee and Terry Have Intercourse — Last Confirmed Contact Before Her Death
Russell Lee and Terry have sexual intercourse on the night of February 10 into February 11, 1985. This is the last confirmed consensual contact with her fiance before her disappearance. This date becomes critical to the later DNA analysis; Russell's semen profile is entirely absent from the autopsy sample taken February 19, 1985, eight days later.
February 14, 1985 — Early Morning
Terry Leaves Work — Taken from Her Home
Terry finishes her shift at Piggy's Restaurant around 1:00 a.m. and drives home to lot 120 of the Bostwick Valley Trailer Court in Barre Mills. Neighbor Kurt Foss, at lot 177, later reports seeing a vehicle arrive at her property around 4:30 a.m. and witnessing two men muscle Terry into a Chevrolet Caprice or Impala. At 8:00 a.m. Russell Lee returns from his overnight shift to find the door ajar, all of Terry's belongings inside, and both Terry and Suzie gone. He calls police immediately.
February 18, 1985
Body Found Burning in Culvert — Vernon County
Two men driving on Mohawk Valley Road in the town of Bergen spot a small fire in a roadside culvert. They find Terry's body still burning. Gasoline was used as an accelerant. Her body has been decapitated. One hand survives the fire intact, allowing fingerprint identification. Investigators conclude the men arrived shortly after the perpetrator departed the scene.
February 19, 1985
Autopsy Conducted — DNA and Paint Chip Preserved
Pathologist Dr. Ruth Dalton conducts the autopsy at St. Francis Medical Center. Without the head, she is unable to determine an exact cause of death. She notes extensive burning and charring, no evidence of freezing, and the recovery of semen from a vaginal smear. The smear is collected by Steven Harrington of the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory and preserved. A paint chip is also recovered from a sheet wrapped around Terry's body, consistent with a vehicle trunk.
March 11, 1985
Michael Popp First Interviewed
Undersheriff Jerry Fredrickson of the Vernon County Sheriff's Office and Investigator Gary Westley of the La Crosse County Sheriff's Office interview Michael Popp. He tells investigators he, his girlfriend Rhonda Sather, Russell Lee, and Terry attended pool tournaments together and were often partners. He says he had been to Terry and Russell's trailer 10 to 15 times. He also mentions owning a blue Ford Torino, a black Trans Am, and an old Pepsi pickup truck. He is not considered a suspect at this time.
October 20, 1987
Rhonda Sather Interviewed — Notes Popp's Car and Behavior
Investigator Mike Weissenberger of the La Crosse County Sheriff's Office interviews Rhonda Sather, who broke up with Popp on March 31, 1986 after filing a court injunction against him for physical abuse. She tells investigators she owned a 1975 Chevrolet Impala, four-door, blue, which Popp commonly drove. When asked if Popp could have killed Terry, she says "Mike is capable of doing something like this because he has a lot of different personalities," before saying she did not believe he was involved.
August 3, 2004
Eyewitness Kurt Foss Gives Formal Statement
Neighbor Kurt Foss provides investigators with a detailed account of what he saw on February 14, 1985. He states he saw Terry clearly and witnessed two men muscle her into a Chevrolet Caprice or Impala in the early morning hours. Rhonda Sather's 1975 Chevrolet Impala, which Popp commonly drove, is consistent with the vehicle Foss described.
December 2007
Body Exhumed
Terry's remains are exhumed in hopes of recovering additional DNA evidence using technology more advanced than what was available in 1985. Investigators make no public statements about the outcome.
June 1, 2022
Wisconsin State Crime Lab Develops DNA Profile from 1985 Autopsy Sample
The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory develops a full STR (short tandem repeat) DNA profile from semen identified in the vaginal smear taken during Terry's 1985 autopsy and preserved for 37 years. The profile is submitted for investigative genealogy analysis.
September 23, 2022
Investigative Genealogy Identifies Michael Popp
Investigative genealogy analysis of the 1985 autopsy sample identifies Michael Raymond Popp as a person of interest. Detective Scott Bjerkos of the Vernon County Sheriff's Office leads the renewed investigation.
November 3, 2022
First Interview with Popp — Denies Any Relationship
Detective Bjerkos interviews Popp. Popp claims he barely knew Terry, says he only saw her three times, and denies ever having a sexual relationship with her. He says he has no idea when she disappeared. He claims he did not know where her trailer was, contradicting his own 1985 statement in which he said he had been to her home 10 to 15 times.
January 2023
DNA Swab Obtained and Confirmed as Match
A buccal swab is obtained from Popp via search warrant. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab confirms it is a match to the semen recovered from Terry's 1985 autopsy.
March 9, 2023
Second Interview — Popp Admits Affair, Denies Murder
Confronted with the DNA match, Popp changes his story. He admits t
03
Investigation
The Investigation
The original investigation was extensive. Police interviewed over 500 people and followed every available lead. Russell Lee, Terry's fiance, was investigated and ruled out through DNA comparison. A key early theory held that Terry was abducted from her home, held for several days, and then murdered and disposed of on Mohawk Valley Road. Investigators noted that the culvert where her body was found, her workplace, and her home formed a triangulated area that might yield further geographic evidence. A witness statement from 2004 placed an unknown vehicle at her residence around 4:30 a.m. on the morning she disappeared, but no identification was ever made.
Physical evidence from the original scene included a paint chip found in a sheet wrapped around Terry's body, consistent with the trunk of a vehicle used to transport her, and a small amount of DNA preserved from the autopsy conducted on February 19, 1985. Neither piece of evidence could be connected to a specific individual using the technology available at the time. In December 2007, Terry's remains were exhumed in the hope of recovering additional DNA evidence, but no public statements followed.
The breakthrough came in 2022. On June 1 of that year, the Wisconsin State Crime Lab developed a full STR DNA profile from semen preserved in a vaginal smear taken during the 1985 autopsy. Investigative genealogy analysis conducted on September 23, 2022 identified Michael Raymond Popp as a person of interest. Popp had been among those interviewed in the original 1985 investigation, identified at the time as a pool tournament acquaintance of Terry and her fiance. A DNA swab obtained from Popp by search warrant in January 2023 was confirmed by the Wisconsin State Crime Lab as a match to the autopsy sample.
When investigators presented Popp with the DNA evidence in March 2023, he changed his story, admitting to a six to eight month affair with Terry while continuing to deny killing her. The criminal complaint notes that DNA experts confirmed seminal fluid could remain viable in the vaginal cavity for up to five days, meaning the match was consistent with the timeframe of Terry's disappearance and death. Popp had lived a short distance from Terry's home at the time of her murder and was familiar with the area where her body was found.
04
Arrest & Charges
The Accused
Michael Raymond Popp
Michael Raymond Popp
DOB September 30, 1963 — Tomah, Wisconsin — Acquaintance of Victim
Charge: First-degree murder — Class A Felony — Vernon County Circuit Court — Case No. 2024CF000112
Arrested: September 24, 2024
Bond: $1 million cash — Vernon County Jail
Age at Time of Murder: 21
Occupation at Arrest: Truck driver — Tomah, Wisconsin
Connection to Victim: Pool tournament acquaintance of Terry and her fiance Russell Lee; admitted to a secret six to eight month affair when confronted with DNA evidence
Key Evidence: DNA from 1985 autopsy matched to Popp via investigative genealogy September 2022 and confirmed by search warrant swab January 2023; eyewitness placed a vehicle matching his then-girlfriend's Chevrolet Impala at Terry's home at 4:30 a.m. on February 14, 1985; semen viability analysis places deposit after Terry's disappearance
Prosecutor: Special Prosecutor Kevin D. Croninger — Monroe County District Attorney's Office
Status: Held over for trial — probable cause established — Judge Mark Goodman
If Convicted: Mandatory minimum — life in prison
Forensic Breakdown
Evidence and Pattern
Victim and Perpetrator Relationship
Terry Dolowy and Michael Popp were part of the same pool tournament social circle. Popp told investigators in 1985 that he had been to Terry and Russell's trailer 10 to 15 times. According to his own admission when confronted with DNA evidence in 2023, the two had an undisclosed affair lasting six to eight months that began in fall 1984.
Their meetings took place at a motel on the north side of La Crosse and in Popp's black Trans Am, sometimes at Grandad Bluff. Popp told investigators that Terry would come to his farm to ride horses, that they kept the affair secret from Russell Lee, and that he was very careful about contact because Russell was around a lot.
Evidence Destruction
Terry's body was decapitated and then doused in gasoline and set alight in a roadside culvert on Mohawk Valley Road, Vernon County. Her head was never recovered. The fire had not fully consumed her remains by the time two motorists arrived, suggesting the perpetrator departed shortly before them.
Prosecutors noted at the bail hearing that the deliberate nature of the destruction is inconsistent with an accidental or non-criminal death. A paint chip found in a sheet wrapped around her body indicates she was transported in a vehicle trunk before being disposed of.
DNA and Semen Viability Evidence
Russell Lee and Terry had intercourse on February 10 and 11, 1985. When the autopsy was conducted on February 19, Russell's DNA was entirely absent. Only Popp's profile was present in the vaginal smear. Dr. Sheldon Marks, a urologist consulted in March 2024, concluded the deposit was consistent with February 15 or 16 — after Terry had already disappeared.
Additional reproductive specialists consulted by Dr. Marks indicated spermatozoa would typically persist in the vaginal cavity for one to three days post-coitus at most. The presence of only Popp's profile, and the absence of Russell's, directly contradicts Popp's claim that their last sexual contact was in early January 1985.
Cold Case Methodology
The case was reopened through investigative genealogy applied to a 37-year-old autopsy sample. The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory developed a full STR DNA profile from semen identified in the 1985 vaginal smear on June 1, 2022. Investigative genealogy matched that profile to Popp on September 23, 2022. A buccal swab obtained via search warrant in January 2023 confirmed the laboratory match.
Detective Scott Bjerkos of the Vernon County Sheriff's Office led the renewed investigation, conducting multiple recorded interviews with Popp and coordinating a multi-agency forensic consultation including the Tucson Police Department and the University of Arizona medical faculty.
Unresolved
Terry's head has never been found. Her dog Suzie has never been found. The paint chip recovered from the sheet wrapped around her body has not been matched to a specific vehicle. The identity of the second person seen with Popp by eyewitness Kurt Foss at approximately 4:30 a.m. on February 14, 1985 has not been publicly established. The full circumstances of what occurred between Terry arriving home and the discovery of her body five days later remain to be established at trial.
Michael Raymond Popp has denied killing Terry Dolowy. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Trial date pending in Vernon County Circuit Court.
In Memoriam
She Is Not Forgotten
Terry Dolowy was 24 years old, nearly finished with her degree, working full time, and planning a future. She came home from work at 1:00 in the morning and was gone before sunrise on Valentine's Day 1985. Her purse was on the table. Her car was still there. Her dog never came home either.
Police interviewed more than 500 people. Investigators preserved evidence for 37 years waiting for technology to catch up. A man who knew her, who played pool with her and her fiance, who drove a car that matched the one a neighbor saw at her home at 4:30 in the morning, apparently said nothing for four decades while her family waited.
A man has been charged. The case is going to trial. Terry is buried in Steger, Illinois. She is not forgotten.
Sources
Criminal Complaint — State of Wisconsin vs. Michael Raymond Popp, Case No. 2024CF000112, Filed September 24, 2024 | La Crosse Tribune | CBS News | Newsweek | Vernon Reporter | Madison.com | WMTV | WIZM | The Racquet Press (UWL) | Wisconsin DOJ Missing Persons Clearinghouse | Find a Grave
More Cases
Related Cases
The Murder of Tasia Fortune
Murder Case — Jackson, Mississippi The Murder of Tasia Fortune...
View Full CaseSerial Killer: Harvey Marcelin
Serial Killer Harvey Marcelin was convicted of murdering three women...
View Full Case