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A break in a cold case has led to an Illinois man being charged with murder more than four decades after a Nevada woman was found strangled in an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 motel room, the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department announced Tuesday.

Charlie Brown Jr., 73, of Champaign, Illinois, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Agnes Tybo, who was 71 when she was killed in 1983. He was arrested on Tuesday and will be extradited to New Mexico. It is unclear whether he has an attorney.

"This case highlights our department's unyielding commitment to victims and their families, no matter how many years pass," APD Chief Cecily Barker said in a news release. "Generations of detectives protected this evidence so that modern science could eventually bring the truth to light. We hope this arrest provides long-overdue closure to the Tybo family and the Indigenous community."

Officers were dispatched Nov. 11, 1983, to a room at the Sundowner Motel, 6101 Central SE, after an employee found Tybo dead on the floor, according to the news release from APD spokesperson Rebecca Atkins.

The Office of the Medical Investigator determined that Tybo died by strangulation and ruled her death a homicide, the release states.

Investigators reported that the room was in disarray and that Tybo had blood on her nose, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Officers found Tybo's purse in a dumpster in the motel parking lot. The purse contained a checkbook, driver's license and tribal membership card, which investigators used to identify her, according to the complaint. A white towel was also found with her belongings.

Police interviewed Tybo's brother, who said he and his sister had traveled from Owyhee, Nevada, to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to attend the Indian National Finals Rodeo. Tybo was staying at a different motel from other family members, according to the complaint.

Multiple witnesses told investigators they heard a woman screaming for a "long, long time" around midnight, the complaint states.

Other witnesses reported seeing a man attempting to enter motel rooms. One witness said they saw the man enter Tybo's room before hearing screams. Witnesses told police they believed it was a domestic dispute and did not want to get involved.

"Though witnesses at the time reported seeing a suspect attempting to enter motel rooms and a composite sketch was distributed to the public and tribal agencies, the case eventually went cold as leads were exhausted," Atkins said in the release.

The investigation remained dormant for years until October 2021, when an APD civilian investigator reviewed the case file and submitted evidence for advanced forensic testing.

In July 2022, the National DNA Index System matched DNA recovered from the crime scene to Brown, Atkins said. Detectives traveled to Illinois and executed a search warrant to obtain a DNA sample.

"Subsequent laboratory testing conclusively demonstrated that Brown could not be excluded as a contributor to the male DNA profile extracted from underneath Tybo's fingernails," Atkins said. "Additionally, sophisticated probabilistic genotyping software linked Brown's DNA to the white cotton towel found with the victim's stolen purse."

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.