Episode Details

After 61 years, law enforcement successfully identified the killer of 12-year-old Mary Teresa Simpson, who was murdered in Elmira, New York, in 1964. Although the original investigation questioned hundreds of people, the perpetrator, Alfred Raymond Murray Jr., managed to evade detection while living in the same community for decades. The case eventually turned on forensic genetic genealogy after investigators overcame significant obstacles, including a historic ice storm that nearly destroyed the final DNA samples. By building a family tree from public records and exhuming Murray’s remains for a definitive match, authorities finally provided closure to the victim's surviving sister. This resolution marks a historic milestone as the oldest cold case ever solved using DNA evidence in the state. Through the persistence of the Elmira Police Department and the victim’s family, a name was finally attached to a crime that had haunted the city for over six decades.

This episode includes AI-generated content.