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Background:

Kristin was born on January 12, 1965 to Phyllis & Michael O’Connell. She was big sister to Kyle O’Connell. Kristin was beautiful, kind, and described by those who knew her as an “old soul”. She loved horses, nature, and sitting down and getting to know people.

Leading up to Kristin’s Murder

In the summer of 1985, Kristin traveled from her home in Minnesota to Ovid, NY to visit a young man, Jim whom she had met months earlier on spring break. She expected a potentially romantic week, but it was anything but. Her host rented a trailer at the last minute instead of having Kristin at his parents’ home. He was distant and took on extra shifts at work, often leaving Kristin alone all day. 2 days into her trip, Kristin called home and told her mother she was cutting her trip short.

The Night of Kristin’s Murder

ThThe night

On Wednesday, August 14th, 1985 Kristin left Jim’s trailer while several of his friends were drinking and partying. She would often take night walks to star-gaze and clear her head. At approximately 11:30 PM, Kristin walked barefoot down a dark rural road in Ovid, New York.

Witnesses saw Kristin walking on the side of the road between 11:30 and midnight. She didn’t appear to be in distress. A little after midnight, witnesses heard what they described as a “blood-curdling” scream coming from the area of a cornfield near Jim’s trailer. Nobody called the police.

Kristin didn’t return to the trailer that night and neither Jim nor his friends contacted the police.

They finally reported her missing the following afternoon and a search was underway that evening. Several contradicting stories came out of Jim’s trailer from witnesses about why Kristin went for a walk, why she may have been upset with Jim, and why she was disappointed in her visit. Some of his friends would later tell investigators that Jim actually had a girlfriend or two in Ovid and was neglecting his guest.

Kristin’s Body is Found

Kr On Thursday, August 15th, upon hearing the news that his daughter was missing- Mike O’Connell jumped on a plane from Minnesota and headed straight to Ovid to help search for Kristin. Her worried mother and brother waited at home by the phone.

On Friday, August 16th, just after 5 pm- firefighters and police officers came upon Kristin’s naked body while conducting their search. She was found in the cornfield adjacent to where she’d taken her walk. She had been brutally murdered- her throat slashed and her clothes were at the scene. It had rained heavily the night before, and much of the evidence had been washed away.

Current Status

It’s been almost 39 years and no arrests have been made. Through the years, Kristin’s case has passed through the hands of many investigators. DNA has been mishandled, the original investigator had a BCI report hidden in a drawer that wasn’t found until 20+ years after Kristin’s murder. Private investigators have interviewed over 100 persons of interest and witnesses.

Ovid, NY is a tiny village with just over 600 residents in 1985.

Someone knows something.

If you have any information about Kristin’s case and want to submit a tip, please do so by contacting:

The New York State Police:

(585)398-4125

Jolynn Rice, Advocate & Founder of Cold Case Advocacy initiated this petition:

Please help: This is a Change.org petition asking NYS Senators to enact an NYS Homicide Victims Rights Act in the State of NY to protect homicide victims’ family rights and get resources to law enforcement to end the more than 30,000 cold case backlog.  The petition currently has over 600 signatures. https://www.change.org/EndColdCaseBacklogNY . Another petition calls for NYS police to provide an exemption to Othram Labs so they can assist in testing case evidence in the Unsolved homicide of  Kristin O’Connell, murdered in upstate, NY in 1985.