King County prosecutors say they now have the DNA evidence to charge a 73-year-old man for a 1972 crime. Samuel Pietro Evans will face charges of first degree murder, and a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted, after his DNA was matched to a 1972 cold case involving the shooting of Jackson Schley in his home on 20th Avenue and East Union Street and the rape of his wife, Daisy Schley. A police investigation allegedly linked Evans’s DNA to underwear recovered from Schley following the attack.

According to the case file, on the evening of January 9, 1972, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the couple returned home from purchasing ice cream. As they entered their apartment, Daisy heard a noise, and a black man emerged from the dining room pointing a gun and ordering the couple to their knees. The case file states that two shots were fired, killing Jackson. The suspect then took his wallet.

According to court documents, "the suspect then drove Daisy to a wooded area, where he parked. He ordered Daisy to remove her clothes and then raped her.” The suspect drove her to another wooded area and took her purse. She woke up in in blackberry bushes, bleeding from the head. A nearby resident heard a woman screaming, “Help, somebody help me, I have been raped," charging documents say. The resident helped her to his house and called 911.

An autopsy revealed that Mr. Schley “died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The bullet was recovered from his skull.”

Police collected Daisy’s clothes, including her underwear. Daisy gave police a description of her attacker and helped produce a police sketch. The suspect was never found and eventually the case went cold. Daisy Schley died in 2007.

Evans had been serving a 20-year prison sentence for a sexual assault conviction in Las Vegas, according to court documents. His DNA profile was entered into the DNA database subsequent to his release in 2005. In 2009, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab matched samples of DNA taken from Daisy’s underwear to Evan’s DNA. According to court documents, “the chances of finding another profile matching that is 1 in 820 quadrillion.” Or, 1 in 820,000,000,000,000,000.