Claire Reid
Cops in Quebec say they have identified the man responsible for the brutal killing of a teen almost 50 years ago.
Sixteen-year-old Sharron Prior was killed after going out to meet some friends for pizza back in 1975. Her body was found three days later in some woodland.
Although an investigation was launched at the time, police were never able to identify the killer - until now, with the cold case finally being solved.
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Police in Longueuil, Quebec, have said Franklin Maywood Romine, from Virginia in the US, was the man responsible for the rape and brutal murder.
Romine died in 1982 - but officers exhumed his body from a cemetery in West Virginia earlier this month to carry out DNA testing.
The DNA recovered from Romnie’s body was a match for a DNA sample taken from the murder scene - proving his link to the killing.
In a statement on Tuesday (May 23) Sharron’s sister Moreen Prior said: “You may never have come back to our house or Congregation Street that weekend but you have never left our hearts and you never will.
“We love you Sharron and now, may you truly rest in peace.”
Her other sister Doreen Prior said: “The solving of Sharron’s case will never bring Sharron back but knowing that her killer is no longer on this earth and can’t kill anymore brings us to somewhat of a closure of this long chapter of our lives.”
Talking about the crime earlier this month, West Virginia prosecutor Mark Sorsaia told WCHS: “It’s a combination of the most evil element in the human race, contacting the most innocent element in the human race – a child.
“Some things are worse than death – losing a child like that, for a family, for a mom. To know that your child died that way.”
Sharron’s mother Yvonne Prior, who is now in her 80s, still lives in Canada, where she has spent her life searching for her daughter’s killer.
Cops looked at more than 100 suspects while investigating the case, but it wasn’t until last year that Romine’s name came up.
When officers in Longueuil started combing through all police records they found Romine had an extensive criminal history, including charges for violent crimes, as well as attempts to evade justice by moving between Canada and the US.
In a statement police said: “Since the suspect in this file is deceased, the confirmation of identity therefore closes this cold case and will not lead to any charges in Canadian courts.”