Nearly four decades after an 18-year-old woman was found dead inside her home in Phoenix, Arizona, police have made an arrest.
Alfred Earl Green was arrested last Thursday in connection with the killing of Lachelle “Shelley” Waite. He was charged with first-degree murder, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release on Friday.
Waite was found dead on Jan. 16, 1986. At the time, investigators found no evidence of forced entry into the house and believed she may have known her killer to some degree. Items were also stolen from the home at the time of the homicide, police said.
Phoenix Police Department
Investigators had a strong lead on a potential suspect but didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest, police said. For 39 years, the case went cold.
In 2022, evidence collected at the scene, which could not be processed at the time of the homicide, was submitted for advanced testing, police said.
Detectives were able to identify 70-year-old Green as a suspect in the homicide.
On Thursday, while serving a sentence on an unrelated case, Green was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to Waite’s death.
“Being able to finally let the family know, and also let the community know that after 39 years, we’re still working on these cases, trying to get justice for them, for the victims and their families, speaks to what this unit is all about,” Phoenix Det. Dominick Roestenberg said in the press release announcing the arrest.
Police did not reveal any motive or a connection between Green and Waite.
A recent graduate of Maryvale High School, Waite was said to participate in dance and choir and tutored other students.
“I’ve gotten close with Lachelle’s family over the years and I’ve learned what an amazing person Shelly was,” Roestenberg said. “She was beautiful inside and out. She was caring, kind and had an amazing future ahead of her.”
Police noted that this was the department’s oldest cold case homicide arrest.
