Wake County investigators identify victim in decades-old case
THEY CAN'T MAKE THE FRONTIER
FLIGHT AND YOU DON'T HEAR THEM
SAY THAT OFF AS WELL. BRIAN,
THANK YOU. NEW TONIGHT WE HAVE
ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
AT THIS MURDER SCENE DECADES
AGO. IT'S OBVIOUSLY A BLACK AND
WHITE PHOTO HERE. THE WAKE
COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
IDENTIFYING A MURDER VICTIM
BURNED TO DEATH IN THIS FIELD.
>> NEAR LAKE WHEELER ROAD BACK
IN 1968. INVESTIGATORS SHARED
THE BREAKTHROUGH THEY MADE
TODAY CREDITING SOME NEW
TECHNOLOGY WRAL'S FLYNN
SCHNEIDER WAS AT THAT NEWS
CONFERENCE. GIVE US AN IDEA.
>> OF WHAT THEY WERE ABLE TO
DISCOVER AND THE BIG
DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS CASE,
FLIGHTS.
>> DAN, AFTER 57 YEARS OF
TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE VICTIM,
A PIECE OF THE WOMAN'S HAIR
EVENTUALLY LED INVESTIGATORS
TO CLOSE THIS CASE.
>> THE IDENTITY OF THE WOMAN
FOUND DEAD IN BURNED IN THIS
WAY. COUNTY FIELD REMAINED A
MYSTERY SINCE 1968.
>> UNTIL NOW, ADDITIONAL DNA
TESTING WAS COMPLETED AND
CONFIRMED THAT THE VICTIM WAS,
IN FACT, A FEMALE BY THE NAME
OF MYRTLE HOLCOMB. THE
BREAKTHROUGH NEW TECHNOLOGY
IN A LOT OF PEACE OF HOLCOMB'S
HAIR TO BE TESTED.
>> IT'S VERY RARE THAT WERE
BEING ABLE TO DO CASES WITH
HAIR. THAT'S A RECENT
DEVELOPMENT WITH ASHER
FORENSICS. THIS IS THE SECOND
SECOND CASE THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE
TO SOLVE AS FORENSIC GENETIC
GENEALOGY USING HAIR.
>> THAT HAIR WAS ONE OF THE
CRUCIAL PIECES OF EVIDENCE.
INVESTIGATORS HAD. THE BODY
WAS IDENTIFIED AS A WHITE
FEMALE WHO WAS BURNED BEYOND
RECOGNITION WITH WEAKNESS HELP
POLICE NAMED A SUSPECT IN 2004
ROBERT RAY. AND THEY SAY HE
LIVED NEAR THE SCENE BUT DIED
BEFORE BEING CHARGED. THIS
WITNESS WAS ALSO ABLE TO
PROVIDE INFORMATION SAYING THAT
THEY HAD SEEN REAGAN IN
POSSESSION OF AN IDENTIFICATION
CARD FOR A FEMALE BY THE NAME
OF HOLCOMB. DESPITE THE NEW
INFO QUESTIONS REMAIN AS
INVESTIGATORS SAY, HOLCOMB
TRAVEL TO RALEIGH FROM FLORIDA
BEFORE SHE DIED. IS THERE ANY
INDICATION ABOUT WHAT MISS
HOLCOMB WOULD HAVE BEEN DOING
HERE IN THE AREA? THERE'S
INFORMATION FROM THE FAMILY
THAT THEY KNEW SHE WAS
TRAVELING TO THIS AREA, BUT
THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHY
INVESTIGATORS HOPE THE
BREAKTHROUGH WAS CLOSURE FOR
HOLCOMB'S FAMILY. THERE.
JUST DEVASTATED BY THIS
INFORMATION AND TRYING TO
PROCESS EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING
ON.
>> HER CHILDREN AND
GRANDCHILDREN WERE WERE UNAWARE
OF ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED.
WEATHER.
>> THE SBI ALSO WORKED ON THIS
CASE TODAY, THE DIRECTOR SAID
THAT THIS TYPE OF DNA TESTING
THAT ALLOW THIS CASE TO BE
CLOSED IS EXPENSIVE, BUT THAT
YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE TAG ON
CLOSURE. WE'VE REPORTED ON THIS
CASE FOR DECADES. YOU CAN VIEW
OUR PAST REPORTING AND WRAL