In October, 2015, Anthony Joseph Palma, 56, was arrested on complaints of first-degree murder and kidnapping, in connection to the 1997 disappearance case of Kirsten Hatfield. Hatfield was only 8 years old when she was abducted from her bed in the middle of the night 18 years ago.

Newly tested DNA linked Palma to the case after his DNA matched blood evidence from the scene, according to court documents. 

A preliminary hearing was set to take place Friday morning for Palma. However, his attorney told News 9's Adrianna Iwasinski that they have waived the preliminary hearing. 

A formal arraignment will take place on June 24.

Stay with us for updates. 

","published":"2016-05-13T16:14:14.000Z","updated":"2016-05-13T17:54:04.000Z","summary":"

A formal arraignment has been set for a man arrested in connection to the 1997 disappearance of a Midwest City girl. 

","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-01-31T23:03:35.135Z","updatedAt":"2025-05-28T23:59:18.391Z","__v":14,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"62421b5b6880e45323a407ce","text":"Anthony Palma","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421b246880e45323a3a0f7","text":"Adrianna Iwasinski","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6244d7dd6880e45323c6ad25","text":"Anthony Joseph Palma","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421b5c6880e45323a407da","text":"Kirsten Hatfield","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"624219f56880e45323a167fe","text":"Midwest City","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"6244c4ae6880e45323aea27c","text":"Palma","type":"LOCATION","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"rendered":68,"peerReviewer":"5c7850eac1778925af4208da","peerReviewedOn":"2025-04-05T20:12:26.524Z","wordCount":300,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e34b247527dcf49dad8d1b2/formal-arraignment-set-for-man-arrested-in-1997-missing-mwc-girl-case","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e34b247527dcf49dad8d1b2"};