More than 40 years after a woman was stabbed and killed 30 times in her house, the police say they have identified a suspect.
The announcement comes after another man has wrongly served for the murder for 20 years behind bars.
This week, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts announced developments in the murder of Katharina Reitz Brow from 1980. Authorities now say that Joseph Leo Boudreau was the murderer. He was 37 years old at the time of the murder and died in 2004.
Brow, 48, was found murdered in her Ayer, Massachusetts, at home on May 21, 1980. She was killed between 7 a.m. when her husband left for work and 10:45 am when she was found.
Katharina Reitz Brow was murdered in 1980 (Middlesex District Attorney Office)
Brow was stabbed 30 times and was struck with a bone object.
Her house showed signs of a struggle with her bag and a “large sum” of the lack of money. Researchers found the knife in a waste basket.
Kenneth Waters was arrested a year after the murder and was convicted in 1983. However, he was acquitted in 2001 when it was established that his DNA was not in a blood stain on the spot.
At the time of his arrest, his blood group corresponded to the blood stain. However, technology developments led to better DNA tests and proven that Waters was not on site.
Joseph Leo Boudreau has been appointed as the cold murderer. He died in 2004 (Middlesex District Attorney's Office)
In 2022, researchers again looked at the case. They were able to test DNA and link it to family members of a suspect. Boudreau's Boudreau was identified as the murderer, said prosecutors. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1975, six years before the murder.
The police say there is no connection between Boudreau and Walters.
“It doesn't matter how much time passes, our priority remains the same, to look for answers. In this case it meant the identification of the person responsible for Mrs. Brow's death, although they could no longer be held responsible through the criminal system. Today we can call her murderer and give her family for a long -term clarity,” said District Marian Ryan, said.
Ayer Police Chief Brian Gill added: “The breakthrough of research came when Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy DNA tests was applied to evidence that was restored on site. This eventually led us to today's announcement.
