DNA breakthrough leads to arrest in Illinois woman's brutal 1993 murder

New DNA technology helped secure the arrest of a man accused in the brutal murder of a woman in downstate Illinois more than 30 years ago.

Albert L. "Buddy" Zigler, 70, has been charged with first-degree murder in the 1993 slaying of Randy Gail Sperino, who was 34 years old at the time of her death, according to the Madison County Sheriff's Office.

Sperino was beaten to death in November 1993, and her body was dumped in a field in unincorporated Granite City, near St. Louis.

CBS affiliate KMOV in St. Louis reports investigators had run numerous tests on DNA samples from the scene since 1998, but it wasn't until recently that a lead opened in the case, after Texas-based Othram, a forensic DNA laboratory, was able to identify Zigler as Sperino's killer.

"Despite the passage of more than three decades, investigators remained committed to pursuing justice in this case. Through the dedicated and persistent efforts of investigators over the years, sufficient evidence was developed to support first-degree murder charges against Zigler," the Madison County Sheriff's Office said in a post on Facebook.

Madison County court records show Zigler made his first court appearance on Tuesday, and was due back in court on Wednesday afternoon for a detention hearing, as prosecutors seek to have him held in jail as he awaits trial.