Phoenix police suspicious arrest in 1986 murder, his oldest cold case

CNN
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Lachelle “Shelly” Jeannine Waite was 18 when her older sister, Annette, found her dead in her family home in 1986. After almost four decades, the police in Phoenix, Arizona, has finally arrested a suspect.

Alfred Earl Green was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of killing Waite, According to Phoenix policeand accused of first degree murder.

Green is already fulfilling life imprisonment in the Department of Corrections, Rebabilitation and Reinterina de Arizona for the murder of his ex -girlfriend, Yolanda TaylorIn 1988.

Waite’s body was found In his mother’s room, and it was determined that the cause of death was strangulation.

There were no signs of forced entry to the house, and the original researchers believed that the victim knew the suspect, according to Phoenix PD.

“The detectives have been able to identify that the suspect in this case was known by the victim through the victim’s boyfriend at that time,” Sergeant. Brian Bower said CNN KNXV affiliate.

At the time of Waite murder, the detectives had a strong advantage, but there are not enough tests to make an arrest, and the case cooled, according to a PHoenix PD press release.

In 2016, the case homicide unit of Phoenix PD decided to carry out a complete review of what had become the oldest cold case in the department. During his review, he identified and presented evidence collected in the scene that could not be processed at the time of murder for advanced DNA tests in 2022.

“After not giving up this case for almost a decade, trying to locate witnesses, identify evidence and collect data, the detectives identified Alfred Earl Green, 70, as suspicious in homicide,” according to the statement.

A reason is still being investigated, according to the police, KNXV reports.

A criminal accusation was filed against Green last month in the Superior Court of Maricopa County. The suspect appeared before a judge on Thursday, where prosecutors accused him of strangling the victim until death, stealing jewels and a weapon of the residence and “(selling them) immediately after the murder,” prosecutors said, according to KNXV.

When asked to respond to the accusations, Green said: “I know he made many lies”, referring to the prosecutor, according to KNXV.

Green is expected to be processed on February 27. CNN contacted his lawyer to comment.

“Being able to finally inform the family, and also let the community know that after 39 years, we are still working in these cases, trying to obtain justice for them, for victims and their families, talk about what this unit is “Detective Dominick Roestenberg said at the launch of Phoenix PD.

A newly graduated from Maryvale High School, Waite is remembered for his participation in choir, dance and as a tutor for other students, according to the archived newspapers of that time.

“I have approached with Lachelle’s family over the years and learned what an incredible Shelly person was,” Raestenberg said. “She was beautiful inside and out. She was affectionate, kind and had an incredible future ahead of her. ”