WAKE COUNTY, North Carolina ( WRAL ) — The Wake County Sheriff’s Office has identified a woman killed in a 1968 homicide using partner agencies and advancements in forensic genealogy.

On Thursday, the sheriff’s office and State Bureau of Investigation held a news conference to discuss how investigators ended a 57-year cold case and identified the victim, Myrtle Holcomb.

“It’s the oldest cold case in North Carolina solved with forensic genealogy as far as I know, so that’s a first,” said forensic genealogist Leslie Kaufman with First Genes LLC.

Kaufman helped investigators to develop Holcomb’s family tree.

Authorities believe Holcomb died on April 27, 1968, in what witnesses described as a fire in a field near Ten Ten Road and Lake Wheeler Road in southern Wake County.

“We believe it’s

See Full Page