Man Charged In Florida In Stillwater Woman's 1984 Death

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Police in Florida say they solved the 35-year-old murder case of a Stillwater native.

Pamela Cahanes, 25, was found strangled to death two days after graduating from the Navy Training Center in Orlando back in 1984.

Authorities in Florida say they were able to track down and arrest her accused killer by using a public DNA database.

Thomas Garner has been charged with first-degree murder. He was one of Cahanes's Navy classmates.

"We can now say we've put closure to this thing, this horrible horrible tragedy, and the person responsible is not out there walking the streets," Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said. "You think about the life she could have had, would have had, and I still think about that. Would she have been married? How many children would she have had?"

Garner remains in custody; no bond has been set. He is expected to appear before a judge Friday morning.

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