TORONTO — A woman found dead in eastern Ontario 48 years ago has been identified as a Tennessee spa owner who went missing on a trip to Montreal, and a Florida man who knew her has been charged with her murder, police said Wednesday. Wednesday.
The woman had been known for decades only as the «Lady of the Nation River» after the remains were found on May 3, 1975, floating in the Nation River, a short distance from a highway bridge near Casselman, Ontario.
Technology that uses DNA to find genetic matches led to her being identified as Jewell Parchman Langford, the Ontario Provincial Police said at a news conference.
Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau said the 48-year-old woman was a well-known member of the business community in Jackson, Tennessee, who co-owned a spa with her ex-husband.
He had traveled to Montreal in April 1975 and never returned home.
“At that time, her family in Tennessee had reported her missing,” Nadeau said. «While I cannot go into the details that will be entered into the trial, I can tell you that the defendant and the victim knew each other.»
Rodney Nichols, 81, of Hollywood, Florida, was charged with murder last year, but the charge was not announced at the time so as not to jeopardize his extradition from the United States. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that Nichols has yet to appear in court in connection with the charge and has not pleaded guilty.
Police say the Langford case was Canada’s first use of genetic forensic technology to identify a victim.
Other identification methods were tried, including creating a 3D facial approximation of her in 2017, but to no avail.
The Toronto Forensic Science Center obtained a new DNA profile from the victim in 2019. The data was sent to a laboratory in California where matches were made to two individuals in a DNA family tree.
The DNA Doe Project, which works to identify victims in cold cases, said Ontario police contacted them for help and the victim’s DNA profile was uploaded to genetic genealogy databases in 2020. Volunteers from the organization identified Langford as a possible candidate within a few weeks.
Ontario’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Dirk Huyer, said the DNA profile was used to help make possible connections between the victim and other people.
DNA samples were then obtained from Langford’s surviving relatives, including his nieces, Huyer said.
Police say Langford’s remains were repatriated to the United States in 2022 and a memorial service and burial was held for her.