The Murder of Linda Slaten

How a 38-Year-Old Cold Case Was Solved by Forensic Genetic Genealogy

On the morning of September 4th, 1981, 31-year-old single mother Linda Slaten was found murdered inside her Lakeland, Florida apartment. Her sister, Judy Butler, made the horrifying discovery after noticing that Linda’s bedroom window screen had been torn open. Inside, Linda was found partially clothed, strangled with a wire coat hanger — the very one taken from her own closet.

Her two sons, Jeff and Tim, were asleep just down the hall. Neither heard a thing.

For detectives, the scene was both brutal and baffling. Veteran investigator Sergeant Edgar Pickett dusted the room for prints, collecting everything he could — even the floor. On the windowsill, he lifted a partial palm print, not realizing it would become the key to solving the case nearly four decades later.

An autopsy confirmed Linda had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and a rape kit preserved semen samples for future testing. But in 1981, DNA profiling didn’t exist. The case went cold almost immediately.

Decades of Silence

Over the years, investigators chased every possible lead. They questioned Linda’s abusive ex-husband, her boyfriend, and even her teenage son, Jeff, who had argued with her the night before the murder. All were eventually cleared.

The evidence — that palm print and the biological samples — sat sealed in storage, waiting for a technology that hadn’t yet been invented.

By the late 1990s, scientists were finally able to build a DNA profile of the unknown killer. Police tested dozens of suspects, including Linda’s ex-husband, but no one matched. The case grew colder with each passing year. Detectives began to wonder if her killer was already dead.

A New Kind of Forensic Science

In 2018, nearly 40 years later, hope arrived in the form of forensic genetic genealogy. Using cutting-edge DNA techniques and public genealogy databases, experts could now trace unknown suspects through their extended family trees.

Genealogist CeCe Moore took on the Slaten case and uploaded the preserved DNA from Linda’s rape kit to GEDmatch. Within days, she began building a massive family tree — linking distant relatives through birth certificates, marriage records, and social media.

Her work pointed to one man: Joseph Clinton Mills — known to the Slaten family as Coach Joe. He had been the boys’ youth football coach, the man who often gave them rides home from practice.

Back in 1981, police had even spoken to Mills briefly over the phone after the murder. He was never considered a suspect.

The Breakthrough

Detectives learned that Mills had once been convicted of grand theft in 1984 and, at that time, was fingerprinted. When investigators compared his palm print to the one found on Linda’s windowsill, it was a perfect match.

Still, they wanted absolute proof. In 2019, police placed Mills under surveillance and eventually collected DNA from his discarded trash — a piece of used adhesive tape. The lab results confirmed what investigators already knew: the DNA matched the semen from Linda’s 1981 rape kit.

After 38 years, Linda’s killer had finally been identified.

Justice, Four Decades Later

Joseph Clinton Mills, now 58, was arrested on December 12th, 2019. During his interrogation, he showed no emotion and offered a chilling claim that his encounter with Linda had been “consensual.” Detectives didn’t believe him for a second. The evidence told a far darker story — one of premeditation, assault, and murder.

In February 2022, Mills pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sexual battery, and burglary to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

For Linda’s sons, Jeff and Tim, it was bittersweet. Their mother’s killer would finally spend the rest of his life behind bars — but he would never explain why he did it, and he never apologized.

The Power of Forensic Science

The murder of Linda Slaten is a testament to the power of perseverance and science. Because her evidence was carefully preserved — and because of advancements in forensic genetic genealogy — a case once thought unsolvable was finally brought to justice.

Sometimes, justice isn’t about new evidence.
It’s about new technology… and the determination to never give up.