Urbana officers hope crime lab can help solve 1988 cold case

URBANA, Ill. -- Local detectives say they've found evidence that hadn't been sent for testing in the 1988 cold case stabbing of a University of Illinois veterinary student.

The Urbana officers hope new technology, including better DNA and blood techniques, can help them solve the death of 21-year-old Maria Caleel, who was fatally stabbed in March 1988 in her apartment.

Urbana Police Sgt. Matt Rivers and Officer Mike Cervantes have been working full time on the case for the past two weeks after months of looking at it while on the night shift. Rivers tells The (Champaign) News-Gazette that they sent about 20 samples to the state crime lab after combing through 28-year-old boxes of evidence.

The detectives expect to get the results back in a month a more.