Police use DNA to solve a 50-year-old Canadian cold case
Investigators along with Ontario Chief Coroner announce new developments in 1975 ‘Nation River Lady’ case from Eastern #Ontario.
The Ontario Provincial Police on Wednesday provided an update on a nearly 50-year-old cold case that has been solved.
The victim has been identified as Lalla Jewell Parchman Langford, who was 48 years old, according to police.
The OPP said it had also charged 81-year-old Rodney Nichols, who lives in Florida, with murder.
The victim and the suspect knew each other.
OPP said Langford was born in March 1927, traveled to Montreal in April 1975, and never returned to the United States.
At the time, police said, her family in Tennessee had reported her missing.
Langford’s remains were discovered by a local farmer on May 3, 1975, near the Nation River at the Highway 417 bridge south of Casselman, about 34 miles (55 km) east of Ottawa.
She later became known as the ‘Nation River Lady’.
In the years following the discovery of her remains, police used tools such as forensic artist renderings, 3D facial approximation in 2017, and a dedicated tip line to unsuccessfully solicit the public for information.
In 2019, in consultation with the chief coroner and members of the Toronto Center for Forensic Science, it was decided to exhume Langford’s body to obtain a new DNA profile.
OPP said that as DNA science progressed, they managed to create a clear DNA profile of Langford. In 2020, researchers were able to identify Langford by sharing the victim’s DNA samples with the DNA Doe Project and searching genetic genealogy databases.
The organization added that they have subsequently spoken to the next of kin and were able to confirm Langford’s identity with her family.
“When we got close, we discovered newspaper articles that specifically mentioned the disappearance of Jewell Langford. She was practically there waiting for us to find her,” C. Lauritsen, team leader at DNA Doe Project, said in a press release.
“The heartbreaking thing is that Jewell’s mother has clearly been looking for her for years and sadly passed away without knowing what happened to her daughter,” Lauritsen added.
OPP said they had the opportunity to meet with the family and provide them with information about the investigation.
The OPP believes this is Ontario’s first historic murder case where human remains have been identified through forensic genealogy.
“We can all be thankful collectively, family, friends and strangers that the word ‘missing’ on her tombstone will be replaced by the words finally home and at peace.”
