Local

Man who killed teen in north Ga. in 1988 identified through DNA

DADE COUNTY, Ga. — After 33 years, the man responsible for killing a Michigan teenager who was found dead in Dade County in 1988 has been identified.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Stacey Chahorski’s body was found about five miles from the Alabama line off I-59 northbound on Dec. 16, 1988. Investigators said that the victim had been killed, but did not reveal how she died.

Chahorski’s body was not identified until earlier this year.

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The GBI has now identified the man who killed her as Henry Fredrick Wise, also known as Hoss Wise, who would have been 34 at the time of the murder.

Wise was a truck driver for Western Carolina trucking company and drove a route from Chattanooga to Birmingham to Nashville.

He also worked as a stunt driver. In 1999, Wise was burned to death in a car accident at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina.

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Wise had an extensive criminal history in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina with charges ranging from theft to assault to obstructing a police officer. His arrests took place before DNA testing was mandatory for felony arrests.

GBI agents were able to use genealogy DNA from Wise’s family members to positively identify him.

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After her death, Chahorski was buried in Dade County, but her body has since been reunited with her family.

Mary Beth Smith, Chahorski’s mother, says she is grateful that law enforcement never gave up on her daughter.

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