A drop of blood subjected to modern DNA testing enabled Vermont State Police detectives to arrest the culprit in the 1989 murder of a Danby couple found stabbed to death in their home, police said.
The Peacocks were found dead on Sept. 17, 1989. No signs of forced entry or significant items have been removed from the house.
Michael Anthony Louise, 79, was arrested Thursday in Syracuse, New York, on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of George Peacock, 76, and Catherine Peacock, 73, police said.
Louise was married to one of the Peacocks’ daughters and was identified as a suspect about two weeks later. Investigators at the time developed circumstantial evidence tying Louise to the killings, police said.
However, the detectives could not establish a conclusive link until forensic testing in May 2020 confirmed a DNA match to George Peacock in a spot of blood found inside Louise’s car in October 1989. Authorities have not revealed why it took two years to make the arrest following the DNA match but said more information would be released when Louise is arraigned.
The blood sample had been tested previously, but earlier tests were inconclusive.
