It was a cold case murder from 1978 that despite repeated leads over the years never led to anyone actually being charged, until now.
On April 10, 1978 the body of 18-year-old Cornelia Hümpfe was found on the side of the road in Germany with 14 stab wounds in her back and neck. Eyewitnesses at the scene claimed they saw a car bearing the type of license plates used by U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Germany.
Police investigators believed the vehicle seen, a Fiat 124, was owned by Tommy Molina who was stationed there with the Army at the time. He was questioned and released, due to a lack of physical evidence.
The case went cold until 1995 when Molina's third wife contacted authorities in the United States, claiming that during a drunken tirade, Molina said he was having an extra-marital affair with Hümpfe, and that when she revealed to him that she was pregnant, he stabbed her to death.
Molina again denied the suspicions leveled against him when questioned by the police, and the case again went cold. It wasn't until 2020 that a search warrant was issued to get a DNA sample from Molina, which was then compared to DNA samples collected from Hümpfe's clothing.
The DNA matched, and Molina was arrested on June 21st and is now awaiting extradition to Germany to face trial, the Associated Press reports. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
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