LOS ANGELES (CBS) – North Hollywood homicide detectives have identified a suspect in the shooting death of a 73-year-old man who interrupted a burglary.

Kevin Bernard Smith was identified by DNA left at the scene of the burglary in the 11100 block of Aqua Vista Street on Jan. 26, 1994, according to Los Angeles police Detective Steve Castro.

During that burglary, police say Rupert Thompson and his wife were asleep in their bedroom when they were awakened by noises from another room. When Thompson went to investigate, the armed burglar shot both Thompson and his wife in the upper torso. Thompson's wife collapsed in the bedroom, but he chased the burglar out of the house, screamed for help, then collapsed in the front yard, where police found him.

Thompson's wife, Dorothy, recovered from her wounds. Thompson died at a local hospital.

Smith had been serving time in Mississippi State Prison for an unrelated drug trafficking conviction. Capital murder charges were filed against Smith in September, when he was returned to California. He's now being held at the California Institute for Men in Chino, awaiting arraignment for murder with special circumstances.

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