Gene Meyer sentenced to life in prison for decades-old cold case murder of Betty Rolf
APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – The former Manitowoc County resident found guilty of killing an Appleton woman back in 1988 was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday afternoon.
68-year-old Gene Meyer will spend the rest of his life behind bars for sexually assaulting and killing 60-year-old Betty Rolf on her walk to work. Meyer was 32 at the time of the murder.
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The official sentencing was life with the chance of parole after 34 years for the first-degree murder charge and 20 years for the first-degree sexual assault with a dangerous weapon charge. The two charges will run consecutively.
Investigators say that Rolf died of injuries consistent with blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation. Her body was found in 1988 along Spencer Street, partially unclothed with her broken purse strap around her neck.
In September 2001, DNA analysis was done on swabs taken from Rolf. 18 years later, in 2019, a familial DNA search was done. This uses specialized software to detect and statistically rank a list of potential candidates in the DNA database who may be close biological relatives of the DNA profile.
The profile of the unknown person was associated with the lineage of Gene Meyer. Investigators determined that the only possible suspects were Gene himself and his brother. His brother was eventually ruled out as a suspect.
Authorities reportedly spoke with Gene’s niece, who said Gene had called and said “goodbye and thank you for everything.” The criminal complaint said her mother told her, “I have a secret… I have a secret… and it’s going to go in my grave.”
Gene was eventually found to be living in the state of Washington, where authorities believe he fled after murdering Rolf. Agents from the FBI Office in Olympia, Washington, were asked to surveil Gene in order to get a DNA sample from him. He was eventually taken into custody and extricated to Wisconsin for trial.
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During the trial, the jury deliberated for just under three hours before Meyer was found guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault with the use of a dangerous weapon.
This brings an end to the decades-old cold case, giving the Rolf family closure and justice.
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