60-year-old killed on way to work in 1988, cops say. Now, man sentenced in cold case
The body of 60-year-old Betty Rolf was discovered partially unclothed with a broken purse strap around her neck on Nov. 7, 1988, Wisconsin police and news outlets reported.
Rolf had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled to death just outside Appleton and left near railroad tracks, Outagamie County deputies said in December 2022, but her killer could not be found.
Thirty-four years after the assault, officials believed they had solved the cold case.
Gene Meyer was arrested in December 2022 and two years later was convicted in Rolf’s killing. On July 11, the 68-year-old learned he will spend the rest of his life in prison when he was sentenced to 54 years, according to court records.
Meyer’s public defenders could not be reached for comment July 12.
“The amount of anger and violence that he perpetuated on a completely unknown person is ... incomprehensible to the average human,” Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis told the Post Crescent.
DNA taken from the victim in 2001 was used in a familial lineage search in 2019, WFRV reported. Meyer and his brother, who was later ruled out as a suspect, were linked in the search, WFRV reported.
During the trial, his attorneys argued that there was not enough evidence to prove that Meyer had sexually assaulted and killed Rolf, only that he had sexual contact with her days before her death, according to the Post Crescent.
Meyer was arrested in Washington and extradited to Wisconsin, deputies said. He had been living in Eatonville, Washington, but used to live in Valders, Wisconsin.
A jury found him guilty of murder and sexual assault on May 21, WBAY reported.
Appleton is about a 100-mile drive northwest from Milwaukee.
This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 1:09 PM with the headline "60-year-old killed on way to work in 1988, cops say. Now, man sentenced in cold case."
