I’m fairly confident I know who the suspect is in the 1998 unsolved murder of Father Alfred Kunz. I could be wrong, but, judging from this March 5, 2008 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, and from what I’ve heard otherwise, I don’t think so.

I can say the suspect is male, Catholic and Caucasian. The apparent motive is indeed more “common,” so to speak, than certain theories that have been bandied about, although I obviously don’t have the full story. Only the investigators do.

Another thing: The man I believe is the suspect has never contacted me. Not that he’s had a reason to do so – and I wouldn’t expect him to confess to me, of course -- but it seems he’s done a good job flying under the radar in the years since the murder. I’ve been following, and have written about, this case for several years, and I’ve heard from various people. But not him.

If he is in fact guilty, I hope he’s arrested, convicted, and spends the rest of his life in prison, regardless of the life he may have built for himself in more recent years.

(Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic columnist with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and an Associate in Applied Science degree in Business Management from Triton College in River Grove, Ill. He has worked in the right-to-life movement and is a published writer focused on Catholic and social issues. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com)