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Jon Collins

Woman slain by Minnesota trooper in 1980 finally identified

Michelle Yvette Busha
These undated photographs of Michelle Yvette Busha were released by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. DNA testing was used to identify her body more than three decades after her murder.
Courtesy Minnesota BCA

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State law enforcement agencies have used DNA testing to identify a young woman murdered by an on-duty Minnesota State Trooper in 1980.

The body now identified as Michelle Yvette Busha, 18, was found in a ravine near Blue Earth in Faribault County on May 30, 1980. Busha, a native of Bay City, Texas, had been reported missing by her family earlier that month.

In hopes that new technologies could help identify the body, it was exhumed from Riverside Cemetery in Blue Earth in August.

Forensic scientists conducted several rounds of DNA testing on her body in an effort to gather a complete DNA profile, said Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Forensic Science Services Director Catherine Knutson.

In mid-February, Busha's DNA was uploaded into the national CODIS DNA database. It pinged a match with two of her relatives who had uploaded their DNA information into the system in 2007. "Michelle's family has experienced a terrible loss, but they now have answers about what's happened to their daughter," said Faribault County Sheriff Michael Gormley.

Nelson told authorities that he didn't know the young woman's identity. He's currently serving a life sentence in a Huntsville, Texas, prison for her killing and other crimes. Nelson's most recent request for parole was denied in January due to the violent nature of his crimes, according to Texas records.

Busha's body will be transported to her family in Texas in the coming days.