Authorities say 1975 killing of 22-year-old N.H. woman has now been solved

"On May 20, 1975, Judith "Judy" Lord, 22, was found strangled to death in her home at the Concord Garden Apartments. The buildings operations manager, who went to Lord's apartment to collect overdue rent, entered after hearing a baby's persistent cries and discovered Lord lying unresponsive in an upstairs bedroom with a blue plastic sauna suit covering her face, officials said."

"Law enforcement initially identified Lord's neighbor, 24-year-old Ernest Theodore Gable, as a suspect, but he was ruled out after a flawed forensic report issued by the FBI in 1975 incorrectly ruled that he could not have contributed the hairs found at the scene, authorities said. That incorrect ruling contradicted other evidence, including Gable's fingerprints being found on Lord's window and witnesses saying Lord feared him and that Gable had a "predatory interest" in her, the AG's office said."

"Decades later, with the benefit of modern forensic science, new DNA testing conducted on biological material collected from the scene correctly identified Ernest Theodore Gable as the source," officials said. "The AG's office said a "comprehensive re-examination" of the case file by the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and the Concord Police Department confirmed Gable's responsibility."

On May 20, 1975, 22-year-old Judith "Judy" Lord was found strangled in her Concord Garden Apartments home in Concord, New Hampshire. A buildings operations manager discovered her after hearing a baby's cries; her 20-month-old son was found safe in a nearby crib. A blue plastic sauna suit covered Lord's face. The scene showed evidence of a violent struggle and a sexual assault, and investigators recovered hairs and towels containing seminal fluid. Neighbor Ernest Theodore Gable was initially ruled out after an erroneous 1975 FBI forensic report excluded him despite fingerprints and witness accounts. Decades later, modern DNA testing and a cold-case re-examination identified Gable as the source and confirmed his responsibility.

Read at Boston.com