Arrest in Ariz. college student's 1978 cold case killing
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- A Virginia man has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting an Arizona college student whose killing went unsolved for 37 years.
Edward Meinhold, 54, of Bristol, Virginia, was arrested in the March 1978 killing of 21-year-old Susan Schmidt of Glendale, Arizona, police said Tuesday.
Schmidt, a student at Glendale Community College and Arizona State University, was found slumped in her car in Glendale and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Investigators say they identified Meinhold, who wasn't contacted by police until this year, as a suspect after reviewing crime-scene evidence in April and interviewing him.
Investigators said Schmidt had been seen at a shopping mall about 30 minutes prior to the March 22, 1978 shooting, reports CBS affiliate KPHO. Witnesses reported seeing a man standing at or near Schmidt's car, reports the station.
Meinhold lived a short distance from the area where Schmidt was found shot several times. Police don't believe there was a previous connection between them.
Glendale police Sgt. David Vidaure declined to specify the evidence against Meinhold but said authorities were able to glean information that wasn't available to investigators earlier in the case.
It's not known whether Meinhold has an attorney.
It was reportedly the oldest homicide case at the Glendale Police Department.
Meinhold was arrested Friday in Bristol and remains jailed in Virginia as he awaits extradition to Arizona.