PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) — A cold case with Maine ties is closed.
A Maine man is accused of killing a woman in Massachusetts decades ago.
Investigators announced Thursday they’ve solved the murder of an Ayer woman in 1980.
The Middlesex District Attorney now says Joseph Leo Boudreau, formerly of Ogunquit killed 48-year-old Katharina Reitz Brow.
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The DA says genetic testing led to a DNA match of evidence at the scene that could only be Boudreau.
“We now — can be clear as to who the killer of Mrs. Brown was,” says Marian Ryan, Middlesex district attorney.
“I’m thankful on behalf of the town that we may finally be able to bring some closure on behalf of the brow family and a measure of justice to Katharina,” says Chief Brian Gill, Ayer, MA Police.
Katharina Reitz Brow was found murdered in her trailer home in Ayer on May 21, 1980. She had been killed between 7:10 a.m., when her husband left for work, and 10:45 a.m., when her body was found.
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Brow was stabbed 30 times and had wounds telling she had been struck repeatedly with a blunt object.
Her purse and cash were missing from the scene.
Boudreau had a previous robbery conviction from 1975 but was never tied to Brow’s death.
Boudreau then moved to Maine in 1987 and died in 2004 at 61-years-old.
According to the Middlesex DA’s Office, a different man was convicted of Brow’s death in 1983, but his conviction was vacated in 2001.