'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAF/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACaixsb/8QAHhAAAgEDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAQFBhExQqH/2gAIAQEAAT8AweabEaXuFLSut7NNAI+oIh59pX2UCv/EABkRAAEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAwQzYf/aAAgBAgEBPwCLc8un/8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQDIXH/2gAIAQMBAT8ActeDD//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Helene Pruszynski, an aspiring journalist and a junior from Wheaton College, Massachusetts, was interning in Denver when she was brutally r*ped and murdered in 1980. The homicide went unsolved for nearly four decades until 2019, when advancements in DNA technology led authorities to the killer's doorstep. James Clanton, a 62-year-old Florida native, eventually confessed to the killing.
Oxygen's Dateline: Unforgettable is slated to revisit the case in an upcoming episode, titled A Promise to Helene. The episode airs on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at 8:00 pm ET, more than two years after Clanton's confession and guilty plea. Here's what the synopsis of the episode reveals:
"A college student is found murdered and the case sits cold for nearly 40 years; Josh Mankiewicz reflects on the vow that keeps the case alive and the innovative method used to catch the killer."
Helene Pruszynski murder case: A brutal 1980 incident, advanced DNA technology, and three more details about the homicide
1) Helene Pruszynski disappeared in January 1980 while walking back home
Helene, 21, was staying in Denver, Colorado, at an aunt's place with her friend, Kitsey Snow, while interning at KHOW radio. Like every other evening, Helene was expected to return home on January 16, 1980, after her shift ended. She would take a bus to the Englewood bus stop a few blocks from her relative's house and walk the remaining distance. However, Helene never made it home that night.
2) Pruszynski's body was first spotted by a mother-son duo in an open field
On January 17, the morning of Helene's disappearance, at around nine in the morning, a mother traveling down Daniels Park Road in northern Douglas County overheard her 13-year-old son exclaim that "there's a body out there." She cast a quick glance towards the open field and saw something out in the open resembling a body.
The woman stopped the operator of a road grader, who then proceeded to look into the matter, only to realize that it was indeed the body of a dead woman. Investigators then quickly descended on the scene over the course of the next two hours and subsequently identified the body as Helene.
3) A grisly crime scene with multiple scattered pieces of evidence was found
When authorities arrived at the murder scene, they discovered that the victim had been r*ped and stabbed to death, while her hands were bound behind her with nylon straps. It was only when a deputy who worked part-time for K-H-O-W arrived that the body was identified as Helene Pruszynski.
Detectives saw footprints in the snow heading into the field, and one set of them seemed to be from cowboy boots. Every piece of evidence that could have been useful for cracking the case was gathered, including an old can, a piece of bread, and an empty milk carton. The tire tracks and footprints were captured on camera, and plaster castings were also developed.
4) Forensic genealogy led authorities to the killer nearly four decades later
Helene Pruszynski's case went cold and was re-opened occasionally before DNA advancement finally gave authorities some hope. In 2019, after conducting a DNA test from the sample acquired all those years ago, using the genealogy website GEDmatch, authorities found thousands of matches. They eventually narrowed down on James Clanton aka Curtis Allen White from Florida.
They acquired Clanton's DNA from a used beer mug, which was a perfect match. He was arrested in December 2019, and although he initially denied any involvement in Helene Pruszynski's murder, Clanton later confessed to the murder while flying back to Colorado to face charges and gave a detailed statement on the events of that fateful night.
5) James Clanton pleaded guilty in court within months after his arrest
In February 2020, Clanton pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of Helene Pruszynski in court and prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table. Once he entered the guilty plea, Clanton automatically accepted a lengthy life sentence, however, with the possibility of parole.
Catch the upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforgettable on Oxygen this Tuesday, November 8, 2022, at 8 pm ET.
