A 77-year-old was raped and murdered in 1977. Police have now identified her alleged killer using DNA.

More than 40 years after an elderly woman was rapped and murder, her alleged killer has been identified.

According to social media posts from police, Alma Jones was raped and killed in 1977.

In 2011, 34 years after the crime was committed, the “case was revived when the box it was stored in had been discovered during the transfer of older case boxes,” police said in a statement, according to FOX 8.

Homicide detectives in Raleigh, North Carolina, started investigating the case again, and a DNA profile for the suspect was developed.

Based on the DNA profile developed by Othram, Inc., the suspect responsible for the rape and murder of Jones was identified as Paul Crowder, FOX 8 reported.

Crowder died in 2015, according to police.

Authorities got a saliva sample from one of Crowder’s family members, which confirmed he was the suspect who raped and killed Jones, FOX 8 reported.

After consulting with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the case has been “exceptionally cleared,” according to the press release obtained by FOX 8.

“While we recognize that this conclusion will not ease the pain and loss the family has experienced, we are pleased that they finally have resolution to something they have lived with for a long time,” Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said in a statement, according to FOX 8. “Diligent, thorough investigation and follow-up by detectives have led to this moment.”