Police had a major breakthrough in a 33-year-old cold case with the arrest of a Maryland man who is believed to have murdered his wife in what had been thought to be a home invasion.
John Norton was charged with first-degree murder for the death of his wife, Karen Norton, who was stabbed to death in her home in Catonsville, Maryland, on Dec. 17, 1985, ABC News reported.
The 23-year-old woman was killed upon returning from her job at a nearby J.C. Penney store in an incident that investigators initially thought was a burglary. They later began to suspect that her husband staged the invasion, but were unable to prove their theory.
John Norton became a primary suspect after investigators re-interviewed key witnesses and gathered information that linked him to the incident however the final missing puzzle piece came in the form of new evidence obtained recently.
"Recent developments in the case have uncovered new evidence that further supported that theory, and the case was brought before the Grand Jury on Wednesday, May 1," Baltimore County Police said, according to ABC News. "After hearing the evidence, an indictment was issued and detectives served Norton with a warrant for his arrest that evening."
Police spokeswoman Jennifer Peach said the arrest was something that Karen Norton's family had been waiting a long time for.
"It's been 33 years in the making and I think the investigators and the department, along with the family, are just ecstatic that we were finally able to get this case to the point where we can prosecute it," she said, according to Fox News.
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