MINNEAPOLIS — Investigative documents related to the 1972 slaying of 16-year-old Joli Truelson show the Minneapolis Police Department destroyed and failed to document evidence.

Truelson was found dead on July 4, 1972 in the shallow waters of Minnehaha Creek, hours after she hitched a ride in Uptown Minneapolis . She died from blunt force trauma to the back of her head.

Her case has never been solved — and is now closed.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension report details three samples that were taken in for lab testing, including a hammer discovered in the trunk of a vehicle pulled over by law enforcement the day after Truelson's death.

There is no mention of the hammer — or the stop — in the Minneapolis Police Department file.

The hammer had what appeared to be possible spots of blood on the handle, according to the BCA report. Lab testing at the time determined the spots did not originate from human blood.

Samples from a pool of blood discovered near Truelson's body and a blood-soaked portion of a shirt found at the scene were tested.

The samples yielded two blood type results: Type A and Type O.

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Click the image above to view the BCA lab documents.

The Minneapolis Police Department investigative file for Truelson's case does not include results of BCA testing.

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Click the image above to view the Minneapolis Police Department report.

Minneapolis Police Department Sgt. Mark Suchta interviewed a potential suspect in Truelson's case in 2024, following the arrest of Jon K Miller for the 1974 slaying of 25-year-old Mary Schlais.

Both Truelson and Schlais were picked up while hitchhiking in Uptown Minneapolis. Schlais' body, which had sustained more than a dozen stab wounds, was found in a Wisconsin ditch.

Miller pleaded no contest and received a life sentence in March for the murder of Schlais.

The brief interview, featured in a recent Vault podcast series about Truelson, did not lead to a confession.

In an April meeting with the Minneapolis Police Department, family members of Truelson were told her case is closed — and they will not question Miller again.

Listen to the full five-part Joli Truelson: Connecting the Dots podcast series, which includes information found in these documents, by clicking here. The series is also available on all major podcast platforms.