Overview

Last known whereabouts: February 14, 1985, approximately 12:30–1:00 a.m., at Dolowy’s trailer home near Barre Mills in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, after returning from work at Piggy’s Restaurant.

Body discovered: February 18, 1985, near a culvert on Mohawk Valley Road in Vernon County, approximately six miles south of La Crosse. Dolowy was found decapitated and burning; authorities reported that an accelerant had been used. Her head and white poodle, Suzie, were never recovered.

Main development: DNA evidence preserved from Dolowy’s 1985 autopsy was developed into an STR profile in 2022. Investigative genealogy pointed investigators toward Michael Raymond Popp, and a DNA sample obtained from Popp in 2023 matched the biological evidence, according to the criminal complaint and court testimony. Popp was charged with first-degree murder in September 2024, pleaded not guilty in January 2025, and is scheduled for trial in fall 2026.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Terry A. Dolowy Murder: Arrest and DNA Evidence Bring New Developments in 1985 Wisconsin Case

For nearly four decades, the murder of 24-year-old Terry A. Dolowy remained one of western Wisconsin’s most enduring homicide investigations. Dolowy, a University of Wisconsin–La Crosse student who lived near Barre Mills, disappeared in February 1985. Four days later, her decapitated and burning body was discovered along a rural Vernon County road.

Her head and her white poodle, Suzie, have never been recovered.

Nearly 40 years after the homicide, advances in DNA testing and investigative genetic genealogy led authorities to Michael Raymond Popp, a man investigators say knew Dolowy in 1985. Popp was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in September 2024. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Terry Dolowy’s Disappearance

Terry Dolowy was 24 years old and originally from River Forest, Illinois. She was a senior at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse and lived with her fiancé, Russell Lee, at the Bostwick Valley Trailer Court near Barre Mills in La Crosse County.

Dolowy also worked at Piggy’s Restaurant in La Crosse.

According to Wisconsin Department of Justice information, Dolowy returned home from work at approximately 12:30 to 1:00 a.m. on February 14, 1985.

She subsequently disappeared.

Her personal belongings remained at the residence, the door was reportedly left ajar, and her white poodle, Suzie, was also missing.

Dolowy was reported missing on February 14.

Terry Dolowy’s Body Is Found in Vernon County

On February 18, 1985, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department responded after something burning was observed near a culvert along Mohawk Valley Road, approximately six miles south of La Crosse.

Authorities discovered Dolowy’s body.

She had been decapitated, and investigators said an accelerant had been used to burn her remains. Her head was not recovered.

Suzie was never found either.

Some later reports give February 19 as the date Dolowy’s remains were found, but the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office account cited in contemporary reporting and the La Crosse Public Library archives place the discovery on February 18. Her autopsy was conducted February 19.

Evidence Preserved From the 1985 Autopsy

The investigation would ultimately hinge on biological evidence preserved for decades.

During Dolowy’s February 1985 autopsy, a vaginal smear was collected and preserved by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory and Vernon County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators did not have the forensic technology available in 1985 that would eventually allow the evidence to be used the way it is today.

The case remained active over the following decades. Investigators interviewed numerous people, collected DNA samples and repeatedly revisited evidence as forensic science improved.

Dolowy’s remains were even exhumed in 2007 so investigators and forensic specialists could conduct another examination in search of evidence.

DNA Testing Produces a Major Break

A major development occurred on June 1, 2022, when the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory developed an STR DNA profile from semen identified in the preserved vaginal smear.

The profile was submitted for additional investigative genealogy analysis.

According to testimony and the criminal complaint later filed in the case, investigative genealogy identified Michael Raymond Popp as a potential match in September 2022.

Authorities then needed a direct DNA comparison.

Investigators obtained a DNA sample from Popp in January 2023. Testing by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory subsequently matched his DNA to the biological evidence preserved from Dolowy’s autopsy, according to the criminal complaint and court testimony.

Investigators Revisit a Man Interviewed in 1985

Popp was not someone entirely new to the investigation.

Investigators had interviewed him in March 1985, only weeks after Dolowy’s death.

According to the criminal complaint, Popp told investigators at that time that he and his then-girlfriend knew Dolowy and Lee. The couples reportedly participated in pool tournaments, and Popp said he had visited Dolowy and Lee’s residence numerous times.

Popp lived a short distance from Dolowy’s home at the time.

Investigators interviewed him again decades later.

According to the complaint, Popp initially characterized Dolowy as a casual acquaintance during a 2023 interview. After investigators confronted him with the DNA evidence, Popp acknowledged that he and Dolowy may have had an affair lasting approximately six to eight months.

Popp denied killing or hurting Dolowy.

The presence of Popp’s DNA is central to the prosecution’s case, but the defense has argued that evidence of sexual contact does not by itself establish that Popp committed the homicide.

Michael Popp Arrested and Charged With Terry Dolowy’s Murder

On September 23, 2024, authorities arrested Michael Raymond Popp, then 60, of Tomah, Wisconsin.

The following day, officials from Vernon, La Crosse and Monroe counties publicly announced the major development in the nearly 40-year-old case.

Popp was charged with first-degree murder in Vernon County Circuit Court.

The criminal prosecution is filed as State of Wisconsin v. Michael Raymond Popp, Vernon County Circuit Court Case No. 2024CF000112.

At a preliminary hearing in December 2024, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation investigator Lindsay Lehr testified about the preserved evidence, development of the DNA profile and subsequent match to Popp.

A judge found sufficient probable cause for the prosecution to continue and ordered Popp to stand trial.

Popp Pleads Not Guilty

Popp entered a plea of not guilty to the first-degree murder charge on January 7, 2025.

The defense has challenged what conclusions can be drawn from the DNA evidence.

At the preliminary-hearing stage, defense attorney Jennifer Lough noted that the evidence establishes the presence of Popp’s semen but argued that it does not establish how Dolowy died or prove who killed her.

The prosecution maintains that the evidence and circumstances support the murder charge.

Popp remains presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Latest Development: Murder Trial Scheduled for Fall 2026

As of September 19, 2026, the prosecution has not ended with a conviction or acquittal.

Michael Popp’s murder case is scheduled for a lengthy jury trial in Vernon County during the fall of 2026.

Local court reporting states that jury selection is scheduled to begin October 15, 2026, with testimony expected to begin the following week. Another published court listing gives the broader jury-trial period as October 19 through November 20, 2026.

Judge Mark Goodman is expected to preside over the proceedings in Vernon County.

The trial is expected to put decades of investigative work—and particularly the DNA evidence recovered from Dolowy’s 1985 autopsy—before a jury.

Until the criminal proceedings are completed, the allegations against Popp remain allegations.

A Case That Spanned Four Decades

The Terry Dolowy investigation illustrates how evidence preserved at a crime scene or autopsy can acquire new significance decades later.

Investigators were collecting and testing DNA in the case long before Popp’s arrest. By 2005, law enforcement was publicly discussing the possibility that advances in DNA analysis could eventually produce the breakthrough investigators had been seeking.

Seventeen years later, scientists developed the DNA profile that ultimately led investigators to Popp.

Dolowy’s homicide is therefore no longer an investigation in which authorities have no identified defendant. It is now an active criminal prosecution awaiting a jury trial.

But important unanswered questions remain.

Dolowy’s head has never been recovered. Her dog Suzie has never been found. And the ultimate question of criminal responsibility is now one for the court and jury to determine.