Madison County prosecutors charged Albert "Buddy" Zigler, 70, with first-degree murder in the 1993 killing of Randy Gail Sperino, after genetic genealogy connected him to DNA evidence collected at the scene more than three decades earlier.
Why it matters
The case shows how genetic genealogy, now standard in many cold case units, continues to identify suspects in homicides where the victim and offender had no apparent prior connection.
What to watch
Zigler is being held in the Madison County Jail pending trial.