DNA evidence made it possible for investigators to identify the 75-year-old man as a suspect in the murder that was committed in 1973.
The then 31-year-old woman lived in San Rafael, California, with her Swedish husband and daughter, and was planning to move back to Sweden at the time of the crime.
The man found her lifeless when he came home from work. She had been shot three times and subjected to sexual assault. The child was found unharmed in another room.
The police questioned several witnesses – including movers and a real estate agent who had been in the house during the day – but the investigation yielded nothing, according to old news articles.
It wasn't until 2021, when the case was sent to an investigative group in California, which compares DNA from crime scenes with a DNA database to try to find relatives of a potential suspect, that the investigation started moving again.
After several months, a lead was found, and after another three years, the suspect could be identified.
The man is being held in custody awaiting extradition to California.
