Police in Canada's capital say they have identified the suspect in a fatal stabbing that took place nearly three decades ago. The suspect, a man from Vancouver, British Columbia, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after advanced DNA testing helped authorities link him to the crime.

Lawrence Deal, now 73, is accused of murdering 22-year-old Christopher Smith on April 12, 1996. according to Ottawa police. Smith was stabbed to death on the Portage Bridge, which connects Ottawa, the Canadian capital, to Gatineau in the neighboring province of Quebec.

"Advances in forensic science and DNA have allowed police to identify the perpetrator and the matter is now before the courts," Ottawa police said in a statement.

Dill was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 10, police said. Investigators returned the suspect to Ottawa within the week and he made his first court appearance over the weekend.

Multiple law enforcement agencies from across Canada have been working since 2020 to solve Smith's unsolved case, including the National Police. Diel was identified through research genetic genealogywhere scientists and researchers use a combination of genetic testing and genealogical research to build a family tree for the individual whose sample is being evaluated.

In Smith's case, scientists used genome sequencing to build a DNA profile of the murder suspect, according to Othram Inc., a laboratory specializing in forensic genetic genealogy to assist law enforcement. Otram's findings allowed police to work the case to develop new leads and pursue a renewed investigation that ended with Diehl's identification.

Dill's arrest marked the closure of Ottawa police's oldest unsolved case and the first time the department used genetic genealogy to solve a crime.

"By laying these charges, the Ottawa Police Service demonstrates once again that we will never stop working for victims of crime and their families," Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs said in a statement. "We will continue to use innovative techniques to solve cases and I commend the members of our Homicide Unit for ensuring that no case is forgotten and that no effort is spared."

Stubbs said police have contacted Smith's family to update them on new developments in his case. Investigators have asked anyone to contact the Ottawa Police Service's homicide unit with information about Dill and his time in Ottawa, as detectives have learned he was there on business at the time of the murder.