The Cold Case Murder of 9-Year-Old Girl has Been Solved After 57 Years

On March 18, 1964, Marise Ann Chiverella was on her way to drop off canned goods at a church before heading to school. Her body was found just hours later, six blocks away from her home in Hazleton, PA. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death, and the case quickly went cold.

 In 2007, the Pennsylvania State Police DNA Lab was able to develop a suspect profile from seminal fluid left on Chiverella’s clothing but were unable to match it to any of the original suspects.

 However, Pennsylvania State Police announced last week that they have identified the murderer, James Paul Forte, using genetic genealogy. Although Forte died in 1980 and won’t face justice for the crime, lead investigator Col. Mark Baron told NBC News that “law enforcement will never give up in trying to find the perpetrators of these heinous crimes that go on. God willing, in life or in death [they] will be found.”