Colorado Springs police solve 1977 murder of 14-year-old babysitter

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Springs Police Department cracked the case of the 1977 murder of 14-year-old babysitter Maria Honzell. Police confirm the suspect in the case, William C. Kernan Jr. died in 2010.

Honzell was just 14 years old when she was robbed of her future . The teen accepted a babysitting job at the apartments across from hers on North Nevada Avenue back in February of 1977. She never made it home.

Before her death on Feb. 7, Honzell called one of her closest friends while babysitting. Kathy Moberly remembers the call well.

"She said that 'I love these kids and I'm babysitting.' And then she said, 'I better get going,'" Moberly said. "She said, 'I love you.' And I said, 'You too!' Those were our last words. We loved each other."

Maria Honzell

Moberly remembers Honzell being full of love and light. She said she always had a smile on her face, even if she was having a bad day. She said she doesn't remember Honzell walking anywhere, she was always skipping.

Honzell was a middle child in a big family. She had seven siblings. Her mother passed away on December 26, 1976, from heart complications. Honzell's little sister, Erica Honzell-Pearson, remembers Honzell stepping up as a sort of mother figure. Honzell-Pearson was just six years old when her older sister was killed.

"Even at such a young age, she had a maternal instinct about her that was ever-present," Honzell-Pearson remembers. "So many people were just drawn to her by her energy and her loving kindness."

Honzell-Pearson said Honzell's loss rocked her entire family. Even 45 years later, the wound is still wide open. Honzell-Pearson said one thing that still sticks in her mind is the day of her sister's funeral.

"The amount of stab wounds that she actually had -- they literally had to have a scarf around her neck, you know, to cover up the wounds. That's incomprehensible," Honzell-Pearson said.

"It scarred us all for life," Moberly said.

The full press conference can be watched below.

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