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DNA technology has led investigators to a suspect in the cold case murder of a Montana girl who was found dead 46 years ago.
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According to Missoula Police, DNA evidence preserved from the scene of five-year-old Siobhan McGuinness’ death matches DNA from a relative of Richard William Davis.
Police believe Davis, who died in 2012 in Arkansas, would have been 32 when Siobhan was killed.
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He was travelling in the Missoula area when the girl disappeared on Feb. 5, 1974, Missoula Police Chief Jason White said Monday.
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Siobhan’s body was found near the Turah exit on Interstate 90. She had been stabbed and sexually assaulted.
“Forty-six years is a long space of time to be in a state of unending grief and sorrow,” Siobhan’s father, Steve McGuinness, said at a press conference.
“I was rather amazed this has happened, but not totally surprised,” he said, “DNA is an amazing thing.”
Davis’ family member had sent a sample into a consumer database, which led to the DNA match, police said.
Aside from DNA evidence, White said Davis’ vehicle at the time of Siobhan’s death matched a suspect vehicle description and his physical appearance matched what was given by two witnesses.
The investigation’s use of DNA to match the suspect was the same way Durham police recently identified Christine Jessop’s killer and how the Golden State Killer was identified.
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