Above: A new billboard near Exit 22 off I-88, advertising a renewed search for information on the unsolved 1974 killing of SUNY Cobleskill student Kathleen Kolodziej. Source: New York State Police.
It has been nearly 40 years since the chilly day in November, 1974 when the body of 17-year-old Kathleen Kolodziej, a Long Island teenager studying at SUNY Cobleskill, was found on a stone wall in Richmondville. Still, the case remains unsolved.
A new effort by New York State Police and New York Crime Stoppers, a nonprofit organization that investigates violent crimes and cold cases, hopes to turn up new leads in the case. New York Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Kolodziej's killer.
Several weeks ago, state troopers put up a large canvas sign on a billboard on Route 7, west of Exit 22 on I-88, advertising the reward and the renewed search for information. The billboard space was donated free of charge by Roger J. Mallory.
Police say that on the night that she disappeared -- Friday, November 1, 1974 -- Kolodziej was at the Vault Bar and Grill in Cobleskill, from around 10pm to 1:30am. Around midnight, Kolodziej's roommate returned to campus without her, after Kolodziej told her she was going back with someone else. She was later seen walking west on Main Street toward the college.
Around 1:45pm, a witness reported seeing a woman getting into a yellow Volkswagen, but it has never been confirmed that it was Kolodziej.
On Saturday morning, November 2, Kolodziej's roommate awoke to find her missing, and reported her disappearance to campus officials. The college alerted Kolodziej's parents, who reported her missing to state police.
Kolodziej's body was not found until November 28, when two hunters found a woman's shoe on Cross Hill Road. A search was organized by state police, and Kolodziej's body was found. An autopsy revealed that she had been stabbed to death.
Police are now looking to speak with anyone who was at the Vault on the night of Friday, November 1, 1974 and early Saturday morning.
Assisting with the investigation, now in its thirty-eighth year, are the Schoharie County District Attorney, the Schoharie County Sheriffs Department, Cobleskill Police Department, and the SUNY Cobleskill Police Department.
State police in Cobleskill are requesting any information on individuals who were at the Vault Bar and Grill on Friday evening, November 1, 1974. Additionally, anyone who has had a conversation with anyone who was at the Vault is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-313-8477, or the State Police barracks in Cobleskill at 518-234-9400.
