Florida police are finally charging a man with the 43-year-old murder of a nurse thanks to a DNA breakthrough – it turns out he was living just 12 doors away when he killed her
- Ronald E. Richards was charged with the murder of Evelyn Fisher-Bamforth
- He was an interesting person on the case, but DNA helped link him to the crime
- Evelyn was brutally raped and murdered in her mobile home
Florida police may have cracked their coldest case after charging a 75-year-old killer with the murder of a nurse nearly 43 years ago.
Ronald E. Richards, currently in prison on various charges in Ohio, was arrested for the January 22, 1980 murder of Evelyn Marie Fisher-Bamforth.
The Miramar Police Department said advances in DNA helped solve the unsolved mystery that had eluded police officers for more than four decades and now believe they may have caught a serial killer.
Richards lived just 12 houses from Fisher-Bamforth, then 32, in a trailer park and was previously a person of interest on the case.
Evelyn Marie Fisher-Bamforth (pictured) was brutally raped and murdered in her trailer in 1980
But there was never enough evidence to charge the neighbor who allegedly smashed her head in before raping her.
Fisher-Bamforth, who was born in Chilliwack, British Columbia, was at home recovering from recent knee surgery and slept alone in her Haven Lakes Estate mobile home.
A friend who was staying with her and her husband John returned home to find the doors locked.
She called the police, who broke into the house and found Fisher-Bamforth beaten to death.
Ronald E. Richards, who is currently in prison on various charges in Ohio, has been arrested for the murder
Widower John recalled returning home and finding police tape on his front door.
He told WSVN, “And that’s when I saw what I saw, which was furniture messed up, pillows messed up, and then I went back into the bedroom, at least half of the bed was soaked in blood.”
No one was arrested at the time, but two months after the brutal murder, another horrific murder and sexual assault took place in nearby Volusia County.
Officials conducting the investigation told Miramar police officers that they believed there were connections to the Fisher-Bamforth murder, but they could not find any further evidence linking him to the crime.
At the time of the murders, Richards was newly released after raping and attempting to kill his girlfriend in Ohio in 1975.
He was convicted of the Volusia County murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison
Fisher-Bamforth was at home recovering from recent knee surgery and slept alone in her Haven Lakes Estate mobile home (pictured now).
He is currently in Ohio for parole violations related to the original attack, and police believe there may be other victims.
Tania Rues, spokeswoman for the Miramar Police Department, said: “Because of advances in DNA technology and the diligence and hard work of Detective Johnathan Zeller, Ronald Eugène Richards has been charged with sexual assault and murder.
“We are one step closer to getting justice for Evelyn.”
John met Evelyn in 1969 while he was a bartender and they soon married and moved into the Miramar mobile home.
He said: “She was a registered psychiatric nurse. She was just great to be here.
“They never graduate, as you can see, but justice for Evelyn is certainly the most important thing.”
Richards is now facing extradition to Broward County to face charges of this crime.
Marie’s murder was the oldest unsolved case in the history of the Miramar Police Department.