A Rochester mother whose young daughter was murdered back in 1984 says she can finally move on.
That's because RPD investigators have made an arrest in the cold case.
“I would like to thank everyone in this department who has gone lengths to do this for us," said Marlene.
Decades have passed since Marlene Jerome’s daughter died a horrible death.
Wendy Jerome was murdered on Thanksgiving back in 1984. She was just 14 years old. She left her home to visit a friend, her body found a short time later outside School 33 on Webster Avenue, just three blocks from her home. Authorities say she had been raped and repeatedly stabbed.
“That night was the beginning of an exhaustive investigation that would lead us here today, 36 years later," said Rochester Police Captain Frank Umbrino.
Hundreds of leads and decades later, Umbrino and his investigative team make the announcement about the break in the case during a news conference attended by Wendy's mother and brother.
“We can finally tell her after 35 years, they made an arrest…they all cried enough for all of you…Marlene, I’m sorry it took so long, but we finally did it," said an emotional Umbrino to Jerome.
In a first of its kind case in Monroe County, DNA technology opened the door to new leads.
Police say a 'familial DNA' hit helped lead them to the man they believe killed young Wendy.
”With this type of testing experts conduct familial DNA searches using various DNA data bases for genetic information to find relatives of a person they are trying to identify," said Umbrino.
In this case, that person is Timothy Williams, 56. Williams was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Melbourne, Florida, with police charging him with murder in the second degree.
"And most importantly we can finally bring justice for Marlene and her family," said Umbrino.
Police say Williams is a native of Rochester and was a neighbor of the Jerome family, although the family did not know him. They say he was 20 years old at the time of the crime and moved to a Florida a short time after Wendy’s death.
Investigators here are working with authorities in Florida to have Williams extradited back to Rochester.
“Regardless of how much time has passed, every crime victim’s family deserves closure, peace and justice," said Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley.
“I just never thought I’d see this day and now it’s here. I just wish my husband had been alive to see this, he passed away in 2011 and I know he’s up there with her… it’s over, it’s finally over," said Jerome.