Authorities say Christopher Revak, a former emergency‑medical technician who died by suicide in 2009, was the killer of Deidre Harm, a 21‑year‑old mother who vanished in Wisconsin Rapids in 2006. The Wood County Sheriff’s Office closed a case that had haunted investigators for almost twenty years.
In a Facebook post on Oct. 20, District Attorney Jonathan Barnett wrote that he would have charged Revak if he were still alive. “I consider this case closed,” Barnett said. “I believe I had enough to charge and, if Mr. Revak were still alive, win at trial.”
Harm went missing after a night out at a downtown bar on June 10, 2006. Hunters found her body five months later, about five miles from the city, in a wooded area near Seneca. Wood County officials released a joint statement expressing condolences for Harm’s family and hoping the decision brings some closure, even though it can’t bring her back.
Revak’s link to Harm’s murder is part of a wider investigation into his violent past. In 2009 he was charged with second‑degree murder after the disappearance of Rene Williams, a 36‑year‑old mother of three from Mansfield, Missouri. Williams vanished on March 13, 2007, after leaving an Ava bar where Revak was also present. He committed suicide in a Missouri jail a day after the charge. Police found DNA evidence tying him to Williams’ truck and the crime scene, leading to the arrest.
In 2024, police teams from Iowa and Wisconsin pulled together to re‑examine Revak’s possible role in other unsolved cases. One of those cases is the 1995 disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit, a 27‑year‑old morning anchor for KIMT‑TV in Mason City. Huisentruit called a colleague to say she was heading to work but never arrived. Police found signs of a struggle near her apartment, but her body has never been recovered. She was declared legally dead in 2001.
Investigators say Revak was a person of interest in the Huisentruit case, though no solid evidence linked him. In 2024, Madison and Iowa investigators compared notes, noting that Revak had lived in towns where other women had vanished. Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase said he had found DNA and other forensic links between Revak and multiple missing‑person cases, raising the possibility that he was a serial offender.
“Sometimes a single piece of evidence can connect decades of cold cases,” Degase told the news. “We don’t believe in coincidences.” He shares that he reached out to Wisconsin authorities after discovering similar patterns in the Harm and Williams cases, prompting a joint effort.
The Wood County Sheriff’s Office remains open to new leads. A $50,000 reward still stands for anyone who can help solve Huisentruit’s mystery. Families and investigators urge anyone with information to contact both the Mason City Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
As the link between Revak and Harm closes a long‑running cold case, investigators continue to crack down on unsolved murders across the Midwest, hoping more answers—and justice—will surface for victims and their loved ones.
Source: Fox News
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