After 36 years, Donna Sue Hyatt's Murderer is Identified
Carlsbad Police Department and the FBI Team with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1987 Rape & Murder of Donna Sue Hyatt
During the follow up investigation, Detective Landgraf and Detective Nyce identified Michael Ruff Wigley as a person of interest. They also learned Michael Ruff Wigley was investigated in the early 1980’s for two separate incidents of sexual assault cases in central Texas. Wigley was charged and convicted in one of those incidents in Texas and was consequently sentenced to prison. Detectives eventually discovered after Wigley was released from prison he passed away in a traffic accident in 1989.
Upon compiling new evidentiary information, in conjunction with the existing case evidence, Detective Landgraf and Detective Nyce identified Wigley as the prime suspect. As a result, a search warrant for Wigley's exhumation and DNA collection was obtained. Working closely with law enforcement in Amarillo, Texas, the Carlsbad Detectives executed the search warrant in Texas. The execution of this search warrant allowed for the crucial and essential collection of Wigley’s DNA which was later provided to Othram for KinSNP® testing. That testing positively and definitively identified Wigley as the suspect responsible for taking the life of Donna Sue Hyatt in July 1987. Additionally, the detective conducted interviews with involved parties, witnesses and family members which helped confirm that Michael Ruff Wigley was present and staying in Carlsbad, New Mexico, during the same time of Donna Sue Hyatt’s sexual assault and murder.''
Carlsbad murder solved after 36 years. Here's what we know
New evidence, mainly DNA analysis, helped identify Michael Wigley as the man who murdered Donna Sue Hyatt.
Apr 11, 2023
''This is a developing story. More information will be shared as the story develops.
CARLSBAD ― The Carlsbad Police Department said new evidence, mainly DNA analysis, helped solve a 36-year-old cold case.
In July 1987, the body of Donna Sue Hyatt was found at her home on Elm Street in Carlsbad. On April 11, 2023, investigators with Carlsbad Police announced that they suspect Michael Ruff Wigley had committed the murder.
Wigley died in 1989 in a traffic accident.
Detectives Joey Landgraf and Tim Nyce with the Carlsbad Police Department were credited with the investigative work that led to the case's conclusion.
According to a news release from the City of Carlsbad, the detectives worked with Texas-based private lab Othram Lab to test DNA collected from the crime scene against DNA collected from the exhumed remains of Wigley.
"That testing positively and definitively identified Wigley as the suspect responsible for taking the life of Donna Sue Hyatt in July of 1987," the news release stated.
Hyatt stabbed, strangled
According to news reports at the time of her death, Hyatt had been sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled.According to the news release from the City, she had last been seen with "a tall, Caucasian male, leaving a nearby store on foot" around 9:15 p.m. the day of her death.''
