The man accused of the 1985 murder of La Crosse resident Terry Dolowy spent his childhood in Kendall.
Michael R. Popp, 60, a current Tomah resident, was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday in Vernon County in relation to the 1985 case.
Popp also was listed as having a Glen Street, Kendall, address in 2008, when he was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors related to cocaine possession and delivery, according to online court records. Those charges were dismissed after he underwent a diversion agreement. Later in 2008, Popp had an Onalaska address.
On Monday in Monroe County Circuit Court, Popp faced charges unrelated to the 1985 case: felony counts of stalking (domestic abuse) and threats to communicate derogatory information (domestic abuse) and misdemeanor counts of obstructing an officer, possession of cocaine, and possession of THC. His bond was set at $10,000 for those charges, according to online court records.
For the 1985 case, Popp is in Vernon County Jail; bail has been set at $1 million.
Dolowy, a 24-year-old UW-La Crosse student, and her poodle went missing Feb. 14, 1985, from her residence in the Bostwick Valley Trailer Park in Barre Mills. Four days later, her decapitated and burned body was found near a culvert along Mohawk Valley Road in Vernon County.
In 1985, during an autopsy, medical staff collected a vaginal smear that was kept by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory and the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office. On June 1, 2022, the crime laboratory developed an STR (short term repeat) profile on semen identified from the vaginal smear. Then, on Sept. 23, 2022, Popp was identified as a match by investigative genealogy testing of the original vaginal smear.
In January 2023, police collected a DNA sample from Popp, and it was found to be a match.
