A Utah sheriff traveled to Sarasota and helped arrest a man in an 18-year-old murder case after authorities say they used DNA from a cigarette butt to link him to the crime.
Wasatch County Sheriff Todd Bonner flew to Sarasota and helped take Joseph Michael Simpson, 46, into custody Tuesday.
Simpson, of 1083 Deer Hollow Way, was being held at the Sarasota County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder in the killing of 17-year-old Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch, whose bloodied and broken body was found Dec. 6, 1995, along the Provo River near Midway, Utah.
Simpson, formerly of Clearfield, Utah, waived extradition and will be brought to Utah within weeks to stand trial. Bonner expects charges will be filed soon in Utah’s 4th District Court.
Beslanowitch originally was from Spokane, Wash. Authorities said she had been in Utah for only five months before her death.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the suspect and victim might have known each other. Chief Wasatch County Deputy Jared Rigby said Simpson was not a boyfriend.
Source: The Tampa Tribune
