LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Police have used DNA evidence to link a murder in mid-April to a registered sex offender living in Jefferson County.
Police said they have arrested and charged 66-year-old James Allen Peters with murder. According to police, the victim was a woman who lived next door to Peters in Crescent Hill.
On April 18, police found 50-year-old Mary Solinger dead in her home in the 100 block of Birchwood Avenue.
Originally police had said her death was being ruled a homicide, but LMPD writes in Peters' arrest citation that "detectives noted possible signs of a sexual assault," adding she had marks on her neck consistent with strangulation.
LMPD said that evidence collected from inside Solinger's apartment was sent to a lab for testing and came back positive with DNA from Peters.
According to police, Solinger's blood was also found on some of Peters' clothing.
Peters, a registered sex offender, had previously been arrested for first degree rape in Nelson County.
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