Bellevue PD makes arrest in 32-year-old murder case

A DNA hit by Bellevue Police on a 32-year-old cold case has led to the arrest of Michael Allan Halgren, 56, in the April 23, 1980 murder of Susan Barbara Lowe. Lowe, who was 19 when she died, was strangled to death by a pair of pantyhose. She was found in her apartment near Bellevue Community College.

January 9, 2013 7:12 pm
Two Bellevue Police Department detectives and a patrol officer investigate outside the apartment of Susan Lowe in April 1980.
Two Bellevue Police Department detectives and a patrol officer investigate outside the apartment of Susan Lowe in April 1980.

 

A DNA hit by Bellevue Police on a 32-year-old cold case has led to the arrest of Michael Allan Halgren, 56, in the April 23, 1980 murder of Susan Barbara Lowe. Lowe, who was 19 when she died, was strangled to death by a pair of pantyhose. She was found in her apartment near Bellevue Community College.

“It’s always rewarding to solve any case, but especially a cold case,” said Detective Lieutenant Jim Hershey. “To assist in some way the long awaited closure for family members of their loved one, is gratifying for not only the family members but for all us at the Department.”

Bellevue PD continued to investigate the case even after it went cold, but closure came when Halgren’s DNA was collected last year alongside other sexually violent offenders at the McNeil Island Special Commitment Center. Found to be a sexually violent predator, he was also convicted of the 1989 kidnapping and rape of another Bellevue female.

Halgren has been transferred to King County Jail and a charge of first-degree murder was filed Wednesday morning.