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Adam C. Peterson’s DNA matches DNA taken from a knife used to kill
31-year-old Joel Marino in his lakeshore home Jan. 28, Police Chief Noble Wray said. Peterson, 20, was charged Friday with first-degree intentional homicide.
Peterson was a pre-psychology major at UW-L from fall 2006 to spring 2007, said university registrar Chris Bakkum. He transferred to UW-Madison last fall as a junior, said UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas. He said Peterson dropped out of his classes in October and officially withdrew from the university in November.
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said the development should calm city residents who have been uneasy after three high-profile murders went unsolved for months. Police said they have not established a link between Peterson and the April 2 death of UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann or last summer’s murder of 22-year-old Kelly Nolan.
Peterson was arrested Thursday morning at his mother’s home in Grant, Minn., where detectives served a search warrant seeking a DNA swab. A DNA test at the state crime lab on Thursday evening matched the DNA taken from the knife, a backpack and a knit cap recovered from the crime scene, the criminal complaint reported.
Police Capt. Jim Wheeler said detectives became interested in Peterson after two previous contacts, including one a month after the murder in which he reported his laptop stolen. Peterson was included on a department bulletin as someone potentially having mental health problems, he said.
Peterson continued to live in the Madison area for months before moving back to Minnesota, police said. Wheeler said they have not been able to establish a link between Marino and Peterson and the murder may have been a stranger killing.
Peterson’s father, Melvin Peterson, told the Wisconsin State Journal that his son returned home to Minnesota in March after a week-long stay in the psychiatric ward of a Madison hospital because he became so unstable that his brother called 911.
The elder Peterson told the newspaper Adam Peterson experienced a “psychotic episode” that “involved extreme verbal violence that his brother had not seen before.”
Melvin Peterson said that since his return home, his son has been in intensive psychiatric care.
Adam Peterson declined to challenge his extradition during a court hearing in Stillwater, Minn., on Friday afternoon and was expected to be transported to Madison. An initial court appearance has not been scheduled.
Tribune reporter Anne Jungen contributed to this report.
