at even though she had been missing for more than three weeks, she had only been dead for four to five days.

Renewed interest in the case

Kimberly Louiselle's sister, Cindy Arthurs, dedicated herself to helping track down her sister's killer.

 About 15 years ago, I just started googling her name to see if I could find anything on her and I found two really, really old articles that didn't have the right information,  Cindy Arthurs said.  That kind of upset me that I couldn't find any information on it. It was like she just didn't exist. So, that was where I started because I wanted to correct the wrong information ... and then it just went from there. 

Cindy Arthurs started a Facebook page to share information about the case, posted flyers, and tracked down her sister's friends -- she became a pseudo detective.

The case got a new set of eyes when Michigan State University students taking part in a cold case internship with Michigan State Police took interest. The students sifted through boxes of evidence and files -- and there was a name that caught their eye. Charles David Shaw.

Back in 1983, someone had tipped police that Shaw had lived in the area where Kimberly Louiselle lived. They said he had recently destroyed his apartment and they thought it was suspicious. Police took note, but never tracked Shaw down.

Local 4 recently spoke with the Michigan State University students who took part in this cold case internship, hear from them in the video player below:

Genetic DNA links Shaw to 1983 murder

Earlier this year, Livingston County cold case investigators announced Shaw as the suspect in the 1983 murder of 19-year-old Christina Castiglione.

Castiglione, 19, lived with her mother and father in Redford Township at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on March 19, 1983, walking westbound on 5 Mile Road near Lola Park in Redford Township.

Her mother reported her missing on March 21, 1983. Her body was found on March 29, 1983, in the Oak Grove State Game Area on Faussett Road in Deerfield Township. Police were able to obtain DNA from Castiglione's body

In March 2022, investigators applied and received grant funding through Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding DNA testing on unsolved cold case homicides. In May of last year, the DNA evidence was sent to Othram Lab in Texas, the company behind DNA Solves.

Othram used the genealogical profile to identify leads in the case and turned that evidence over to investigators. Investigators said through that work and cooperation from the suspect's family, they were able to  identify beyond a reasonable doubt  who the killer was.

 The cooperation of the Shaw family during the investigation was paramount to identifying Charles Shaw as the person responsible for the homicide of Christina Castiglione,  Livingston County investigators said in a press release.

---> Advanced DNA analysis helped solve a Livingston County cold case and it doesn't stop there

Charles David Shaw (Livingston County Sheriff's Office)

Investigators focus on Shaw as suspect in Louiselle's murder

Investigators began focusing on Shaw as the suspect in Kimberly Louiselle's murder.

They created maps of areas where he was known to spend time -- like where he lived and where he worked -- and they discovered that those locations surrounded Kimberly Louiselle's location.

Investigators did a property audit on all the property and all the evidence that they had in the case. The students, and detectives, took that evidence to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab and asked for it to be retested.

They were hoping for a miracle. Then, four months later, they got a hit -- one sperm cell was found. The DNA had been among the evidence for 40 years, and had gone unnoticed. The cell was uploaded into the system and linked to Shaw.

Investigators believe Shaw kidnapped Kimberly Louiselle while she was walking. Police said they are 100% confident that Charles David Shaw is responsible for the death of Kimberly Louiselle.

Shaw was found dead in Detroit on Nov. 27, 1983. The medical examiner's report lists his death as accidental sexual asphyxiation.