This 1972 North Carolina murder was a cold case. DNA evidence led to a suspect in Bradenton
A suspect in a cold case murder that took place 47 years ago in Johnston County, North Carolina, was arrested in Bradenton, the Raleigh News and Observer reported.
Larry Joe Scott, 65, was arrested in Bradenton and awaits extradition to North Carolina to face charges in the murder of Bonnie Neighbors.
Neighbors was 33 years old when she was found, bound and fatally shot, after going out to pick up her oldest son from school. Her 4-month-old son was found alive beside her.
Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell reopened the case in 2007, and DNA evidence was used to link Scott to the crime.
“In 1972, I was only 14 years old, but something about Bonnie Neighbors’ killing and about this case always bothered me,” Bizzell told the News and Observer. “After I became sheriff in 2007, I was still haunted because her killer had not been found.”
Scott is charged with murder and kidnapping. He was arrested on Tuesday and was being held at the Manatee County jail, where he awaits extradition.