PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida police department says it solved a 35-year-old homicide by using DNA to find a relative of the alleged killer and then creating a family tree to track him down.
Pensacola detectives arrested 57-year-old Daniel Wells on Wednesday and charged him with the slaying of Tonya McKinley.
The 23-year-old mom was found strangled and sexually assaulted on New Year's Day 1985.
Detectives says DNA found on McKinley partially matched one of Wells' relatives.
They used a family tree to identify him as a possible suspect and used a cigarette butt Wells discarded to get a final match.
In the video below, listen to the emotional reaction from McKinley's son as he learns of the arrest:
