Arrest Made In 18-Year-Old Cold Case
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 9:04 PM
Updated: Thursday, May 29, 2008 07:37 AM
Authorities said advanced technology led them to James J. Hollis, who they said killed Mary Cook inside her Corwin Street home, 10TV News reported.
Cook’s body was discovered in her bedroom on July 21, 1990.
According to investigators, Cook was beaten, raped and strangled. In a release issued on Wednesday, Circleville police called it one of the most heinous crimes in the city’s history.
That summer, people started walking in groups and police increased patrols, 10TV News reported.
"Yeah I'm scared, and I've never been scared before in my life," Circleville resident Pat Rickard said in 1990.
During the course of the investigation, investigators conducted 40 different interviews and stockpiled drawers of evidence, but they were unable to make any breaks in the case.
Although police did not elaborate Wednesday on the evidence that led them to Hollis, they credited technology and new investigative techniques.
Hollis, 37, was scheduled to make his first court appearance in Circleville Municipal Court on Thursday morning.
Hollis would have been 19 years old at the time of the slaying, 10TV News reported.
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