DNA breakthrough solves 1963 cold case murder at Wisconsin gas station

More than a half-century after a man was stabbed to death at a gas station in Wisconsin, authorities believe they've finally solved his murder. Several rounds of advanced forensic testing on DNA samples taken from the scene of the crime eventually led detectives to identify a suspect in the killing, the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office said.

Wayne Pratt was found dead on June 12, 1963, inside of an Enco gas station formerly in operation along U.S. Highway 41 in Winnebago, which is about 60 miles southwest of Green Bay. According to the sheriff, Pratt's wife, Marie Pratt, told authorities after her husband's murder that she had discovered his body in the back room of the station, covered with a blanket. He had suffered 53 stab wounds.

Pratt was 24 years old at the time of his death, and worked as a gas station operator at the Enco, CBS affiliate WFRV reported in 2020, when the Winnebago sheriff announced an earlier breakthrough in the case that had remained cold for decades. Marie Pratt said that her husband had been at home watching TV on the night of the stabbing, and went outside when a car pulled up to the gas station at around 8:40 p.m. local time. The Pratts lived about 50 feet from the Enco, the sheriff said. Marie Pratt had recalled him walking toward the station to help the customer, thinking the person had pulled up to the station for gas.