Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘A Mother Knows’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘On The Case With Paula Zahn,’ the primary focus is on the tragic killing of a bright, young active-duty soldier named Darlene Krashoc in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the spring of 1987. Over the years, the detectives uncovered mysterious circumstances surrounding her demise, but couldn’t get to the bottom of the case until decades later, with the help of advanced genealogy technology. The documentary also features insightful, emotional interviews with Darlene’s loved ones, offering a detailed account of the case.
Darlene Krashoc’s Remains Were Found Behind a Local Korean Restaurant in Colorado Springs
Born on August 22, 1966, in Baltimore, Maryland, Darlene Depaula Krashoc was the beloved daughter of Paul and Betty Lou Krashoc. The soldier at Fort Carson, assigned to the 73rd Maintenance Company, reportedly spoke with her mother over a phone call in March 1987. Panic-stricken, she allegedly opened up that she was scared and no longer wanted to be stationed at Fort Carson for unknown reasons. A few days later, on the night of March 16, 1987, Darlene went to a club called Shuffles with members of her unit. Unfortunately, after leaving the club between midnight and 1 am in the morning, the soldier was never seen alive.
A few hours later, on March 17, a couple of Colorado Springs patrol officers discovered the remains of the 20-year-old woman in an alley behind the Korean Club Restaurant on 2710 South Academy Boulevard. The detectives determined that her remains were likely moved to the scene after the perpetrator committed the killing somewhere else. The autopsy revealed that she had been tortured and sexually assaulted before she was strangled to death. Thus, without delay, the detectives launched a homicide investigation to get to the bottom of the case.
Darlene Krashoc’s Killer Was Apprehended After More Than Three Decades
During the intensive investigation, the police interviewed hundreds of persons of interest and potential suspects, but none led to any breakthroughs. Although plenty of DNA evidence was extracted from Darlene Krashoc’s remains, none of it could point them to any suspect, as forensic DNA was not yet advanced. As a result, the case went cold for several years until DNA evidence yielded a partial profile of the suspect in 2003. At the time, the authorities managed to eliminate a few suspects, concluding that the perpetrator was not in the FBI’s DNA database. More than a decade later, in 2016, with the advent of DNA technology, the authorities created a stronger DNA profile and composite images of the suspect at the time of the murder and in his 50s.
In the following year, the police released the composite images to the public in the hopes of receiving tips that could lead them to the killer, decades later. A couple of years later, in 2019, the authorities linked a man named Michael Whyte to the DNA sample found on Darlene’s remains, with the help of two popular ancestry sites — 23 and Me and Ancestry. Upon digging deeper into Michael’s past, the detectives learned that he was also a soldier at Fort Carson at the time of Darlene’s murder and lived just three blocks away from the place where her remains were found.
In order to gather his DNA and verify it with the DNA evidence from the scene, the police began surveilling him in Thornton, where he lived. While tailing him, they retrieved his discarded cup from the trash can of a fast-food restaurant. When they tested his DNA from the cup against the DNA evidence found on Darlene, it matched. Armed with enough evidence against him, they arrested him on June 13, 2019, at his home in Thornton. The following day, he was charged with the 1987 murder of Darlene Krashoc.
Michael Whyte is Serving His Sentence at a Colorado Prison Facility
Two years after his arrest, on June 24, 2021, Michael Whyte was found guilty of killing Darlene Krashoc in 1987. The next day, during his sentencing hearing, Darlene’s father, Paul Krashoc, took the stand and gave a victim impact statement. He hoped that “now maybe, just maybe, we will have justice for all.” Meanwhile, the convict also took the stand and stated, “I didn’t kill Darlene Krashoc, nothing else.” In the end, on June 25, Michael was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The 65-year-old killer is currently incarcerated at Limon Correctional Facility in Limon, Colorado.
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