Man pleads not guilty to 44-year-old cold case murder of Boeing employee
Nov 8, 2024, 11:04 AM
Kenneth Duane Kundert, 65, currently being held on a $3 million bail in Van Buren County Jail. (Photo courtesy of Van Buren County Sheriff's Office)
(Photo courtesy of Van Buren County Sheriff's Office)
The man accused of murdering Boeing employee Dorothy Silzel in 1980 pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Kenneth Duane Kundert, 65, of Van Buren County, Arkansas, pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of Dorothy “Dottie” Silzel that occurred in February 1980. Forty-four years later, Kundert was arrested last August after he was linked to the crime scene through DNA technology.
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Dorothy Silzel, 30, was last seen on Feb. 23, 1980 after she left her second job, working at a restaurant called Gaetano’s Pizza, just after 10 p.m. Her primary job was as an instructor with Boeing, according to KING 5. She also volunteered with the Special Olympics.
When she failed to make it to work at Boeing for two days without notice, Kent Police Department officers went to her home, located just three blocks from Gaetano’s Pizza, to investigate. When they entered, they found her body on the second floor with bruises on her arms and neck. Police determined she died from strangulation. The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab later discovered traces of semen during an autopsy.
According to FOX 13, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab attempted to use developing DNA data within the last 10 years, but it took until 2022 for the lab to produce a list of potential suspects based on the DNA discovered at the scene. Eighteen months later, in September 2023, detectives narrowed the suspect list down to Kenneth Kundert and his brother. Kenneth’s brother was ruled out after he provided a DNA sample.
Meanwhile, Kenneth Kundert refused to submit to a DNA test.
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Investigators also noticed he would put the butt of a cigarette in his pocket after he was finished smoking, instead of throwing it away, during police interviews. After initiating a tail in Arkansas, investigators were able to recover one of his cigarettes in Clinton, Arkansas when he dropped itbefore entering a store. Investigators matched the DNA on the cigarette to what was discovered on Silzel’s body and in her home.
Kundert arrived at King County Jail on Oct. 30 on a $3 million bail, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He is due back in court Dec. 2.
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
