Murder of Michelle Busha

She was last seen in December 1979 while she was travelling to Louisiana.

Michelle Yvette Busha was a formerly unidentified murder victim discovered in Blue Earth, Minnesota, in 1980.

She made calls to her family from Mississippi and Indiana between January and May 1980.

After the calls stopped, loved ones feared for her safety.

On May 9, 1980, she was reported missing.

Michelle's father kept the same phone number and address, hoping she would contact him again.

Minnesota State Trooper Robert Leroy Nelson, while on duty, offered Busha a ride on May 26, 1980, after witnessing her being dropped off by a vehicle near the Bricelyn overpass along Interstate 90.

He raped, beat, tortured and strangled Busha with a ligature.

Her fingernails were removed while she was still alive and her head had been shaved, except for an area in the back of the head, which was left about an inch long.

After her murder, the body was moved to a ditch along Interstate 90 and her clothing and personal items were removed and disposed of.

The decomposed, nude body was discovered about three days to one week after her death.

Heavy rains had washed her body into a visible area, where it was discovered by a farmer among broken corn plants.

The unidentified victim was estimated to be between the ages of 20 and 35.

It appeared she was a transient, as her feet were "heavily calloused."

She was 5'3" and weighed 128 pounds. Her left ear, at least, had been pierced and she had an overbite.

Near the scene, bloodied clothing and a Texas driver's license were found.

The blood was later found to be that of an animal and the license was counterfeit.

The body was later buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Blue Earth in an unmarked grave.

After Busha was reported missing on May 9, 1980, various efforts were made to locate her.

Henry Lee Lucas confessed to killing a young woman along Interstate 90 in the area, but when questioned in prison during 1983, he gave details inconsistent with the murder and was excluded as a suspect.

In February 1984, a potential match was noticed with a set of remains discovered in New York.

In May 1984, her dental records were compared to that of an unidentified woman, known as the Cheerleader in the Trunk, who was discovered in Maryland in 1982.

She was excluded as a potential match to both decedents.

The unidentified victim's fingerprints and dental records were compared against missing persons from Colorado and Minnesota but did not line up with any of the potential matches.

Fliers describing the case were distributed nationally.

In June 1988, while in police custody in Smith County, Texas, former Minnesota State Trooper Robert Leroy Nelson confessed to murdering the victim while on duty.

He claimed he did not know her name, but she apparently was travelling to Idaho or Oregon and she had spent time in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area.

He admitted to handcuffing her to prevent her escape.

Police found his confession credible, as he stated he had removed her fingernails, a fact that had not been released publicly at the time.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, while he was already serving two life sentences.

Her murder was solved in 1989, but she remained unidentified for years following the confession of Robert Leroy Nelson, who was a former Minnesota State Trooper.

He was sentenced to an additional 86 months on August 25, 1989.

Nelson had left Minnesota after becoming involved with a religious cult.

Busha's remains were identified in 2015 after a DNA profile was obtained following the exhumation of her remains.

Busha and her sister were raised and homeschooled by their mother and stepfather, who were Jehovah's Witnesses.

Consequently, the sisters were "highly isolated."

Michelle ran away from home when she was 17.

She was found over 1,000 miles away in Burlington, Colorado, by the police, who proceeded to contact her father, Don Busha, Sr. She was later taken to his residence in Bay City, Texas.

Busha, described as having a "rebellious" personality, left home at 18 after an argument with her father while living in Bay City, Texas.

Don Busha admitted he slapped her and she made the decision to leave Bay City.