Ontario Provincial Police
Nearly five decades after her remains were found in an Ontario river on May 3, 1975, the woman — known to many as “Nation River Lady" — has now been identified as Jewell “Lalla” Langford and a man has been charged with her murder, authorities confirmed this week.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shared the news on Wednesdayin a release, in which the department detailed that Langford — who was 48 at the time of her death — was identified in 2020 after the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto obtained a new DNA profile of her the year before.
The department added that genome sequencing found that Langford’s DNA matched samples from two people in “a family DNA tree.” Her case is believed to be the first in the country where forensic genealogy was used to identify human remains.
“Thanks to advances in genetic genealogy science and the collective commitment of all of the investigators involved, we have brought resolution to the families and friends of this missing person who met with foul play,” said Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau, the major case manager of OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch, adding, “We can be satisfied with the results of this investigation and that we were able to return Jewell Langford’s remains to her loved ones.”
After a lengthy investigation that saw the OPP working alongside the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal, the FBI, the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, and the Departments of Justice in both the U.S. and Canada, 81-year-old Rodney Nichols of Hollywood, Florida was charged with murder late last year. Nichols has not yet appeared in court or entered a plea,a report from CBC said on Tuesday.
“Prematurely sharing developments in the investigation could have jeopardized the investigation and ensuing court processes, including potential extradition from the United States,” the OPP said of the decision not to announce the murder charges publicly until now.
“Our work is about finding the truth for families like Jewell’s and never giving up regardless of the passage of time.'
According toCNN, Marty Kearns, deputy commissioner of OPP Investigations and Organized Crime, said that authorities “have always believed this case was solvable, that we would one day identify the person who became known as the Nation River Lady.”
source: people.com
