Unsolved Murders in Michigan’s Capitol: Lansing Cold Case Files

On March 20, 1982, Kimberly Louiselle of South Lyon, Michigan, after having tried to find a ride from her boyfriend's house, decided the best way to get home that night would be to hitchhike. She would never be seen alive again.

Related: Michigan Cold Case: The Kidnapping and Murder of Laurie Murninghan

Her body would be found nearly a month later, on April 14. Naked and beaten, her body was found lying amongst shrubs in the Island Lake Recreation Area in Green Oak Township. Her murder went unsolved for over 40 years, and may still be, were it not for Louiselle's sister and a group of Michigan State University students.

How a Sister and a College Class Solved a Michigan Cold Case

About 15 years ago, Cindy Arthur, Louiselle's sister, said in an interview with ClickOnDetroit, that after a frustrating Google search experience, decided to start doing some digging of her own.

I just started googling her name to see if I could find anything on her and I found two really, really old articles that didn’t have the right information...That kind of upset me that I couldn’t find any information on it. It was like she just didn’t exist. So, that was where I started because I wanted to correct the wrong information ... and then it just went from there.

Arthur started posting flyers and started a Facebook page dedicated to her sister's unsolved murder. This eventually got the attention of Michigan State University internists who were working with the Michigan State Police. Working together, they were able to obtain DNA evidence that finally gave Louiselle's family closure.

With cooperation from the suspect's family, detectives were able to conclusively name Charles David Shaw as not only Louiselle's murder but the 1983 murder of 19-year-old Christina Castiglione of Redford township. Shaw, who was found dead on November 27, 1983, is still being investigated as a suspect in another open cold case. If convicted, that would make Shaw a serial killer.

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While these solved cold cases were in Livingston and Oakland Counties, it shows that just the smallest push or bit of information can bring a sense of closure to a family who has been waiting decades for it. Take a close look at the open cold case files in the City of Lansing, Michigan, and see if you might have a missing perspective.