The husband of a murdered woman has been identified as her killer by authorities almost 25 years later, putting an end to the former cold case.
Police have named deceased business owner Edward Geddes as the person responsible for the murder of his wife, Lina Reyes-Geddes.
Reyes-Geddes was found dead on the side of the road near Maidenwater Spring in Utah back in April of 1998. Police discovered her body inside a sleeping bag secured by duct tape and rope, wrapped in a carpet, and covered with plastic.
Sadly, officials were unable to identify the body and the case went cold.
However, Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis has now revealed to The New York Post that authorities were finally able to pull the DNA from the rope found with Reyes-Geddes's body using specialized technology.
Reyes-Geddes was not reported missing by her husband, but instead by an aunt of hers who lived in Mexico. The missing persons report came in five months after Reyes-Geddes was last seen alive, Davis said.
According to CBS News, detectives announced a breakthrough in the case back in 2018, after it had been closed, reopened, and taken on by the agents at the State Bureau of Investigation in Utah.
The breakthrough came after Utah state investigators matched a photo of Reyes-Geddes to an updated missing persons file posted in Youngstown, Ohio.
The local missing persons file specified Reyes-Geddes - who was previously known as the Maidenwater victim - by name due to the fact that she and her husband were both residents of Youngstown.
A relative of Reyes-Geddes then traveled from Mexico to Utah to provide the DNA sample that eventually allowed investigators to correctly identify her body.
Davis disclosed that because Geddes died by suicide in 2001 and was cremated, authorities needed to get DNA from his two living relatives in order to compare the DNA on the rope. The result brought back a positive match for the husband.
Additionally, the agent added that another set of male DNA was found on the rope, but that person was later ruled out from the investigation.
"There’s a lot of ups and downs in law enforcement, but I would put this case at the top of just making you feel good," Davis said. "It's very, very fulfilling to be a part of that [solved case] and the people coming together."
"At least there are some closures, at least there [are] answers," he concluded.
