DAVIE, Fla. (WFLA) — Close to four decades after a woman was murdered and dumped in a Florida canal, police have identified her killer: a dead man with an extensive criminal past.

Marilyn Decker was 28 years old when Davie police found her floating in a canal off Flamingo Road in October 1987. Detectives said it was obvious that Decker had been murdered. She had multiple stab wounds, and the medical examiner later confirmed her cause of death was asphyxiation.

Police collected multiple items such as Decker's shirt and towel, and even identified a few possible suspects, but were not able to definitively connect anyone to the crime.

The investigation continued into the mid-90s when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined Davie police and conducted interviews. However, with no new

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