More than 30 years after the brutal killing of 24-year-old Samantha Mizzi in Australia, police say they’ve finally made an arrest.

Victoria Police announced that on Thursday, August 14, officers arrested a 67-year-old man in Ararat in connection with Mizzi’s 1994 murder. Authorities have confirmed he has been charged with murder and two counts of rape, and The Australian has identified him as Colin George McKane. He is set to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court the same day.

Mizzi was fatally assaulted in St Kilda, a Melbourne suburb, on March 29, 1994. Police say her body was discovered around 11 p.m. in bushes behind a Brighton Road property by a passerby. She was rushed to the hospital but died the next morning.

Investigators are crediting advancements in DNA technology and genetic genealogy for the major breakthrough, which they hope will finally bring answers to Mizzi’s family. “It doesn’t matter how many years have passed, detectives remain committed to holding those who are involved in violent crimes to account,” said Detective Inspector Dean Thomas of the Homicide Squad.

Thomas added that the arrest is proof that decades-old cases can still move forward: “We can begin the process of providing families with long-needed answers.”

Police say the investigation remains ongoing and are urging anyone with information to come forward — no matter how much time has passed. “Any piece of information will be assessed thoroughly by police in the hope it can provide new avenues of enquiry for an investigation,” Thomas said.

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