A man has been charged with the 1972 murder of 15-year-old Julie Ann Hanson.
Barry Lee Whelpley, 76, was arrested on Wednesday (June 2) by police in Mounds View, Minnesota, for the murder of the teenager, who was first reported missing on July 8, 1972.
Per CBS Local, the arrest was announced by Nashville police on Friday morning.
Julie's body was found the day she was reported missing in a field near 87th Street and Modaff Road in Naperville, alongside the bike she had been riding.
She was discovered with 36 stab wounds to her body, with the Daily Herald reporting that she was also raped prior to her death.
Police held the following press conference about the case:A breakthrough in DNA analysis tied Whelpley to the murder, according to police, with no other suspect being identified until this time.
The services of Identifinders International LLC, a California firm that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy investigations, were used to make this breakthrough.
"Our detectives, like I’ve mentioned, were diligent, relentless, had the faith that this case would be solved someday, and that day is today," Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said. "People often call these type of cases 'cold cases'. This was never a cold case for our police department. We continually investigated this case throughout those 49 years."
Whelpley was 27 at the time of Julie's death and lived within a mile of her family home, police revealed, per CBS Local.
The 76-year-old was arrested in Minnesota, and he will be extradited to Illinois to face three counts of first-degree murder.
He has a bond that's been set at $10 million.
"This horrific crime has haunted this family, this community and this department for 49 years," said Marshall added in a statement.
"The investigation and resulting charges were truly a team effort that spanned decades, and I could not be more proud of the determination and resourcefulness of our investigators, both past and present, who never gave up on Julie."
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said of the arrest: "This is something I never expected to be standing here talking to you today. Julie Ann Hanson, 1972, that's an outlier at that point."
There is a 1983 case against Whelpley involving a violation of an order of protection according to DuPage County court records, however, further information about the incident is not available.
Marshall read a statement from Hanson's surviving family that read: "We are forever grateful to all those who have worked on this case throughout the years."
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