Hunters found her body in the Georgia woods. 33 years later a suspect is in custody.
Thirty-three years after deer hunters in Georgia discovered the body of 23-year-old Mary Louicile Willfong in the woods, a man was arrested for her murder, authorities said.
New technology allowed investigators to match the DNA evidence found on the victim’s body to Larry Padgett, 59, who on March 1 as arrested in Indiana, where he lives, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia announced.
Investigators believe Padgett sexually assaulted Willfong and strangled her to death.
Willfong’s body was discovered on Nov. 21 1989 in Monroe County. Willfong was reportedly last seen boarding a tractor trailer with a man at a farmer’s market in Forest Park, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, officials said.
Multiple suspects had their DNA taken and were interviewed by investigators at the time.
No DNA matches were yielded, and the case went cold.
Case re-opened in 2019
Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman asked his detectives to re-open the case in 2019, the sheriff's office said. Evidence was sent to a DNA International, a genealogy lab based in Florida.
That led to the identification of Padgett in Indiana.
In August, sheriff investigators contacted the Washington, Indiana Police Department for assistance in their investigation. He was ultimately arrested by Monroe County investigators who traveled to Indiana on March 1. Two days later he was booked into Monroe County's jail, where he remains.
The sheriff's office said they obtained further evidence linking Padgett following his arrest.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia cold case: Indiana man arrested for Mary Willfong's 1989 death
