A Connecticut man was arrested by authorities and held on a $2 million bond Saturday in relation to the cold case murder of a teenage girl nearly 17 decades back.
Keyworth took a train into Waterbury that arrived just before midnight Memorial Day to meet up with a buddy but she was found murdered in a stairwell the morning after.
“We’re so happy that we are able to bring some closure and justice for the woman’s family,” Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo stated, according to the newspaper. “A lot of it had to do with a great deal of perseverance from the detectives involved in the situation.”
The chief did not specify what led researchers to Robinson but stated they had been helped by DNA evidence and forensic science, FOX 61 at Hartford reported. It wasn’t apparent how she ended up in the stairwell.
Investigators discovered the city following Keyworth’s murder, traveling up to Las Vegas in 2007 to interview someone about the case, but there were never any arrests.
Robinson was arrested on an unrelated offense for interfering with a police officer only months after Keyworth’s murder, but it’s not clear if he had been interviewed about her passing at the moment. Officers didn’t say if there was any known prior connection between Robinson and Keyworth.
Robinson has an arrest record that includes sexual assault and risk of injury, the paper reported, but there was no record of any convictions.
He faces one count of murder.
Police put Keyworth’s unsolved case at a specially designed deck of cards sold to prison offenders which includes cold cases on unique cards. Keyworth was the three of hearts. The cards have led to hundreds of tips in cases, but authorities did not say if her card aided bring about Robinson’s arrest.
The analysis is continuing and police said the $50,000 reward for information helping lead to an arrest and conviction in the event is still accessible, the paper reported.
