Marie Ann Jackson disappeared from the Lansing area on November 13, 1970. Her body was discovered in a pine grove eight days later by a man looking for a hunting site.

MSU police Detective Andrea Beasinger said the case is being investigated by a task force comprised of MSU police, Michigan State Police and the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office.

The reopening was spurred by an increase in personnel working on the case. Beasinger said there is no new evidence or new leads in the case.

“We have the resources available now that we didn’t have 30 years ago,” Beasinger said. “Several detectives from different departments are working on this case.”

The investigation will mainly consist of contacting witnesses and family and friends of Jackson’s, Beasinger said.

Shortly after her body was found, witnesses provided police with a composite sketch of the man Jackson was last seen with. At the time, he was described as a 6-foot-2, 30- to 35-year-old male with short brown hair.

Nobody was ever arrested in the case, Beasinger said.

The Ingham County Coroner concluded Jackson was strangled to death and was laid in the pine grove one to four days before she was found. There was no evidence of sexual assault.

Beasinger said the task force has reopened – and solved – similar cases in the past.

“We’ve actually worked on several cases that are as old as this,” Beasinger said. “I guess we’ll wait and see. We’ve succeeded in other cases, so we’re optimistic about this one.”

Retrial granted in McCollum murder case

The Michigan Court of Appeals granted a new trial Monday to the man convicted of raping and killing a Lansing Community College professor in 2005.

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III and the lawyer for 30-year-old Claude McCollum filed a joint motion for a new trial late last week. No date has been set for the new trial.

McCollum was convicted in 2006 of the rape and murder of LCC professor Carolyn Kronenberg. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Since the conviction, McCollum has maintained his innocence.

Hugh Clarke Jr., who is expected to be McCollum’s attorney for the new trial, said he has heard that a videotape is part of the new evidence expected to be presented. Clarke said he has not seen a videotape or any other evidence yet since he has not been officially named McCollum’s attorney.