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Published - Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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Murder charges filed in 1985 Senenfelder slaying

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A 23-year-old murder investigation ended Monday when first- and second-degree murder charges were filed against John Willis Nissalke for the murder of Ada Senenfelder in June 1985.

Senenfelder, 40, was found June 6, 1985 dead in her bed. Police also found a knife, "male DNA" and other biological samples at the scene of the murder. Although Nissalke insists he's never been in Senenfelder's bedroom, modern DNA testing has found he is a possible contributor of the found DNA material, the complaint states.
Nissalke, 42, faces four counts of aiding and abetting premeditated murder.

Two first-degree counts carry life sentences in prison. He is currently in the Winona County Jail on unrelated charges he assaulted an officer during an investigation of his home in the 950 block of East King Street on May 22.

According to the criminal complaint, Nissalke disappeared from a party late June 5, 1985 around the time of the murder. He was seen later that night with his hand wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth and was apparently looking for a knife he "misplaced."

According to witness statements, Nissalke often bragged about the murder and on more than 30 separate ocassions he reportedly said to his associates, "If you're snitching, I'll stab you like I stabbed (Senenfelder)."

Nissalke was also reported to say, "I cut her three times in the throat and once in the heart," details never released to the press but that corroborated with autopsy findings.

Nissalke is scheduled to make a first appearance on the murder charges June 19.

Keep checking www.winonadailynews.com for updates.
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Average Joe wrote on Jun 13, 2008 5:36 PM:

" Lets just have the truth come out and see who really did this.... "

homey_girl wrote on Jun 11, 2008 2:14 PM:

" Yes, it is Winona but at least they hopefully will find him guilty on DNA samples. This isn't LA and the O.J. Simpson trial. There are thousands of unsolved cases where they do not have the resources and money to pursue. "

myopinion wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:41 PM:

" Is this the stock car driver? "

trax wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:34 PM:

" thank God justice has been served....God bless the family who has suffered for such a long time "

rusty wrote on Jun 10, 2008 8:24 PM:

" I hope he likes prison sausage! "

ocean wrote on Jun 10, 2008 5:07 PM:

" No, he won't get probation. Instead of bickering about how slow the process took, why don't we just be thankful that Senenfelder can finally rest in peace and this !#%#@ can brag about this murder while he's locked away in a tiny cell with only enough room for his thoughts and anguish.

I'd like to say thanks to the people that worked so hard re-opening this case and bringing justice. Salt of the earth these people! "

El Uno wrote on Jun 10, 2008 2:21 PM:

" Anybody else get the feeling he's going to get probation...... "

J.D. wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:35 PM:

" This case was just recently re-opened. With advanced DNA testing and new leads, it really didn't take long to solve it "

Pirate Steve wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:12 PM:

" So this guy bragged about this on 30 separate occasions, said how he did it, had blood on his hand that night after leaving a party, plus with current DNA testing, and Winona is just NOW getting around to arresting him?!? Wow. I guess things do happen slow in small towns. "

yarnivek wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:16 AM:

" DNA testing has been around for some time now. Is there some reason why authorities only recently had their evidence tested? "


The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Winona Daily News.

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