(NewsNation) — The cold case killing of a woman who was last seen alive more than 50 years ago is gaining renewed interest.
The FBI says it wants to exhume the body of Joyce Malecki, who went missing after going shopping just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, in November of 1969. Malecki, 20, was later found dead in a wooded area near Fort Meade, according to WBAL-TV. Her body was bound and partially submerged in water with signs of strangulation.
An advocate for Malecki’s family told NewsNation’s Evan Lambert he believes the FBI has a theory they’re working to prove or disprove. They’re reportedly seeking Malecki’s DNA after 50-plus years.
Several sources tell NewsNation the exhumation process is supposed to happen at the Loudon Park Cemetery in west Baltimore later this week, although that is tentative at this moment.
Malecki’s killing was featured prominently alongside the death of nun Catherine Cesnik in the 2017 Netflix series “The Keepers,” which argues the two cases are connected. Cesnik, a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, went missing days before Malecki did.
The FBI did not comment on what they said is an “ongoing investigation.” However, NewsNation is told Malecki’s family supports the FBI’s plan to exhume her body, and hope to get answers or some kind of closure after all these years.
Kurt Wolfgang, one of the founding members of the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, is working on the Malecki family’s behalf. He says his organization is proud that it was able to get the FBI “up moving and taking another look” at what happened to Malecki.
“For many, many, many years, the Maleckis heard nothing from the FBI,” Wolfgang said.
The media and public won’t be allowed inside while the FBI exhumes Malecki’s body, but Wolfgang said the family plans to speak to the press after.