BERLIN (AP) — German police have arrested a man in connection with the kidnapping and slaying of a German banker's wife nearly seven years after the crime, the day after releasing his image to the public, authorities said Thursday

Prosecutors in the southern city of Ellwangen said in a statement that the suspect was arrested overnight in the area of Heidenheim — the same town where Maria Boegerl was kidnapped from her home in 2010.

They said it was the same man whose picture was released Wednesday, and that they are now awaiting the results of DNA testing, expected during the course of the day, to determine whether there is physical evidence linking him to the crime.

Police on Wednesday issued a computer composite picture of the man, appealing to the public for their help in finding him.

They said he had made drunken boasts in the northwestern city of Hagen in 2016, recorded by two witnesses, which led police to believe he was involved in the crime.

They identified the man as a former soldier who was from the town of Ochsenberg, near the scene of the kidnapping. In the audio recording released by police, he can be heard talking about having left a knife in the woods, slurring his words.

Ellwangen prosecutors could not be immediately reached for further comment on the arrest. The dpa news agency reported that authorities said the 47-year-old suspect has said he had a hatred for the Boegerl family, but denied involvement in the killing.

Boegerl, 54, was taken from her home in Heidenheim on May 12, 2010.

The kidnapper then contacted the woman's husband, an executive with a local bank, and demanded a ransom of 300,000 euros ($325,000), speaking in a local accent. The ransom money was left at the side of a highway as requested, but was never picked up.

Boegerl was able to briefly speak with her husband by phone, telling him that her life was in danger, but was not heard from after that.

Three weeks later, her body was found in a wooded area near where the ransom money was left. An autopsy concluded she had been stabbed to death.