MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - A murder case that went cold for more than 40 years in Miramar has heated back up as police make a break in the case.
This is the oldest cold case in the City of Miramar, which goes back to January 1980. Every so often, detectives have revisited the case to see if there was any progress that could be made.
During that time, a widower had to move on with his life, but now it’s all coming to a close.
“The first time I saw her, I fell for her, you know,” John Bamforth said.
That’s how Bamforth’s story of life with Evelyn Fisher began, back in 1969.
Marriage and a series of moves brought them to a Miramar mobile home soon afterward.
“She was a registered psychiatric nurse. She was just great to be around,” he said.
More than a decade later, in 1980, their story seemed to end in the neighborhood they called home, which remains a mobile home park today called Haven Lake Estates.
Bamforth arrived home after work to find police tape on his front door.
“And that’s when I saw what I saw, which was furniture disturbed, cushions disturbed, and then I walked back to the bedroom, half bed at least was soaked with blood,” Bamforth said.
Fisher was dead, and no one was arrested.
Now, nearly 43 years later, there is a new ending to the story.
A man named Ronald Eugène Richards, who lived 12 homes away, was arrested in an out of state case.
“An arrest warrant for rape and attempted murder, and it was the same MO as our case as well, and that’s how he became a person of interest,” said Miramar Police Detective Johnathan Zeller.
But, at the time, there was no evidence, and now that’s changed.
Police said years of revisiting the case has finally paid off.
“Due to advancements in DNA technology and the diligence and hard work of Detective Johnathan Zeller, Ronald Eugène Richards has been indicted for sexual battery and murder,” said Tania Rues, spokesperson for Miramar PD. “We are one step closer to obtain justice for Evelyn.”
“You never have closure, as you can tell, but certainly justice for Evelyn is the most important thing,” Bamforth said.
According to police, Eugène Richards has a long history of violent crimes and is in prison in Ohio.
The next step is to extradite him to Broward County to face charges in this case.
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