Conclusion Through Time

At the beginning of this year, he made national and international news for solving one of the oldest cold cases in the nation — and in May, Jackson County (MO) Sheriff Darryl Forté presented him with a Meritorious Service Award for his remarkable persistence.

The fugitive serial killer, Sharon Kinne, had ruthlessly evaded the law through six decades and across three countries — from Missouri over Mexico to Canada — until she died of old age, but what matters to Love is that he was able to seek and find justice for the victims and closure for the affected families.

It all started with an anonymous tip on Kinne in late 2023. That tip led to office coffee chatter that Love overheard and caught his interest in the case, his supervisor at the Fugitive Apprehension Unit giving him the good-to-go to pursue it, and unstoppable momentum when he joined forces with Intelligence Analyst Darin Lee of the Kansas City Police Department.

How Love and Lee diligently and methodologically proceeded with the case is a suspenseful thriller in itself. They had the benefit not of doubt but of time, as previous barriers to the investigation were now lifted: relationships within the killer’s personal circle had changed, data processing and access had progressed, and forensic technology had advanced. Love and Lee could fully dedicate all attention and resources to the evidence, and trace it forward: to the meanwhile deceased Sharon Kinne.

They were able to finally identify her when they subpoenaed for her 2022 fingerprints from the funeral home: they matched the FBI’s DNA card from 1960.

When Love recounts his extraordinary work to close the case, he draws another conclusion through time — to his Graceland days as an American History major, where his professors and Faculty Emeriti William “Bill” Russell ’60 and William “Bill” Juhnke fostered his passion for historical inquiry, refined his research skill, and inspired the investigative techniques he uses today.

Sergeant Dustin Love spoke at a news conference held by The Kansas City Missouri Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 30, 2025, detailing their investigations into Kinne and announcing the closure of the case.