"The identification was made through a joint effort by the Criminal Investigation Resource Center at Russell Sage College and other forensic and investigative agencies, authorities said. The work, which spanned several years, eventually allowed authorities to match DNA from the crime scene with DNA from Nowakowski, whose body was recently exhumed as part of the investigation, Albany Police Commander Melissa Morey said. Nowakowski's relatives cooperated with the investigation, she said."
"Nowakowski had a lengthy criminal record, including an attack on an elderly woman in 1973 in Schenectady and several burglaries, authorities said. "We wanted to make sure that we took every step possible to be 100% positive that he was, in fact, tied to this and that we have his DNA on file," Cox said. Nowakowski was in his early 30s when Blackburn was attacked and was not a suspect at the time."
DNA from Joseph Nowakowski was matched to the 1964 rape, stabbing and bludgeoning death of 50-year-old Catherine Blackburn in Albany. The identification resulted from a multi-year effort by the Criminal Investigation Resource Center at Russell Sage College alongside other forensic and investigative agencies, and investigators exhumed Nowakowski's body to obtain DNA. Nowakowski had a lengthy criminal record, including a 1973 attack on an elderly woman and multiple burglaries. Investigators found no indication that Blackburn and Nowakowski knew each other. Blackburn was discovered by her niece after coworkers could not locate her, and family members expressed relief and gratitude.
Read at NBC New York
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]