A high-profile murder case investigated by former State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent and Catawba College alumnus Don Gale ’77 is being featured on the Oxygen network’s series “Buried in the Backyard” during the month of August. Gale and the other investigators of the case are voice narrators of the action.
The episode, titled “The Swedish Connection”, is described by the network as “An idyllic North Carolina town makes the international press when a double murder involves a victim with an infamous past.”
The 1993 case involving homicide victims Catherine Miller and Swedish political extremist Victor Gunnarsson, continues to experience periodic resurgence of interest over the years. It involved an angle of international intrigue, as Victor Gunnarsson was a suspect in the 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. He was detained and eventually released, emigrating to the U.S. to Salisbury, NC. Gunnarsson and Miller’s daughter, Kay Weden, had been dating briefly following Weden’s breakup with her ex-fiancé, former law enforcement officer L.C. Underwood, who was convicted of Gunnarsson’s death. Underwood later died in prison in 2018, while serving a life sentence plus forty years.
Gale, who retired from the NC SBI in 2008, cites a list of media outlets who have featured the case among their episodes, including CourtTV’s Forensic Files in a 2006 episode entitled “To the Viktor”; the Discovery Channel’s Investigation Discovery series, “Dead of Winter”, in the episode called “Cold Blue” in 2020; the Weather Channel’s “Storm of Suspicion”, in the episode “Secret Suspicions” in 2024, focusing on weather conditions that affected the case; and a Swedish podcast, “The Man in the Snow” in 2024. Even with all of that, Gale thinks the Oxygen channel’s program still might not be the last one which seeks to keep the decades-old case alive.
True-crime aficionados continue to turn up articles about the case online, and interest is piqued further by those who discover two books, “First Degree Rage” and “Raging On”, written about the case by Paula May, who at the time was a detective sergeant with the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office. Gunnarsson’s body was discovered in the mountains of Watauga County, NC.
The program, which is Season 6, Episode 1 of the Oxygen Channel’s “Buried in the Backyard” series, airs at various times and dates which can be found on the series’ website.
About Catawba College
Founded in 1851, Catawba College is a four-year, private, liberal arts college located in Salisbury, N.C. Ranked as one of the best regional colleges in the South, Catawba is known for its intellectual rigor, dedicated faculty, beautiful campus, and strong commitment to sustainability and the environment. The College offers more than 70 undergraduate and four graduate programs, allowing students to explore diverse interests and create their own academic pathway. Additional information is available at catawba.edu.
