Salt Lake detectives seek DNA sample in 1995 cold case homicide

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake homicide detectives are seeking a DNA sample from a Fort Collins, Colo. man who had earlier refused to offer a sample in connection with a cold case homicide from 1995.

The man had told police that another person had shot John Wollshleger, 30, in the head. And the girlfriend of one of the men who helped dispose of Wollshleger's body also identified another shooter after the victim had attempted to buy some cocaine, according to a DNA warrant filed in December in 3rd District Court.

Those interviews took place a year after Wollshleger's body was found July 30, 1995, in the back of a pickup truck near 1600 South and 700 West by a pair of ambulance workers.

Wollshleger had a gunshot wound to the head and abrasions on his back consistent with being dragged across the pavement. At the time, police suspected a drug buy gone bad because Wollshleger was known to frequent the Pioneer Park area and other hot spots for drug purchases.

Although a $1,000 reward for information was offered at the time, few leads developed.

Last year, detectives traveled to Colorado to obtain a DNA sample from the man they had talked to a year after the killing to exclude him from being a potential contributor to DNA found on Wollshleger's clothes.

The man refused, according to the affidavit for the warrant.

Detectives also took a trip to Preston County, W. Va., to get DNA from one of the men said to be at the scene that night. That sample excluded that individual.

Email: amyjoi@desnews.com Twitter: amyjoi16