An Oklahoma man has been arrested in connection with the unsolved case of an eight-year-old neighbor girl who vanished from her bedroom almost two decades ago, police said. “What we learned from our review was that a few evidence had not been submitted for analysis, which included cigarette butts, a syringe, a beer bottle, and what we also knew from the original analysis of the blood that was found in Kirsten Hatfield’s panties and also the blood on the window sill outside her bedroom window, is that there were specific genetic profiles that were similar in nature”, Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
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Blood was found on Kirsten’s windowsill and her underwear was found in her backyard, but the girl has not been seen since. Police now believe she’s dead. In requesting an arrest warrant for him, Midwest City police Detective Darrell Miller wrote “It is likely that Palma has been motivated to stay in the same home to hide evidence of the crime and/or the location of Kirsten’s body”.
The Midwest City police chief said the search will continue Wednesday for the victim, who lived only two houses down from the suspect.
The break in the case came in when it was reassigned to another detective.
This summer, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation lab finally found a match. The investigators continued working the case and said they collected DNA from all men they interviewed.
Palma, who has worked as a groundskeeper for many years, was questioned about the case in 1997 and again this past June.
“Kirsten may have been targeted by Palma for sexual assault”, according to court documents.
Clabes said investigators are searching Palma’s home for any evidence.
Police said on both occasions, he said he was home the night Kirsten went missing.
During Palma’s interview he was described as giving inconsistent information from what he gave in 1997.
Palma was arrested Monday on first-degree murder and kidnapping complaints after authorities concluded that she was killed shortly after her abduction.
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News of Palma’s arrest led to tears and cries of joy by the child’s mother, Shannon Hazen.
