DNA Leads to 1972 Cold Case Arrest

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) – A 77-year-old man has been arrested and charged with killing a young woman in 1972 – a case authorities say they used DNA evidence to solve.

Terrence Miller of Edmonds, Washington, was arrested Wednesday. Police say he shot and killed 20-year-old Judy Loomis and left her partially-clothed body in a heavily wooded area. Miller has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder and is being held on $1 million bail. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

The Daily Herald reports a new forensic tool known as genetic genealogy led Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives to zero in Miller. Based on DNA from a boot that Loomis was wearing, a genealogist had built a family tree for the suspect. In 2018, authorities say detectives recovered a coffee cup used by Miller and used it to match his DNA with the evidence.