A suspect in the death of an 84-year-old Mishawaka woman that happened back in December of last year is under arrest.
Lois Hickey was found beaten to death in her home on East Donaldson Avenue. Detectives found blood at the scene, but did not find a match in the National DNA Database. Hickey's car was missing, but was found by police shortly in Riverpark in late December.
Thanks to tips from Crime Stoppers, police say they took DNA samples from several people, including William Karimu, who lived two doors down from Ms. Hickey. Forensic scientist Daun Powers said in a report that, "In the absence of an identical twin, William Karimu is the source of the DNA to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty."
William Karimu was charged back in March, but records were sealed because they believed he had fled to Sierra Leone. Karimu was taken into custody on Tuesday, but he is not currently on his way back to the United States.
The United States does not have an extradition with Sierra Leon, so authorities are currently working with Great Britain to extradite Karimu.
Karimu was a suspected person of interest with Metro Homicide and voluntarily gave a swab of his DNA. He said he was in the area at the time of the murder but had no involvement in it. The DNA came back with a match.
Neighbors like Dolores Richardson say the people on the street have been living in fear since the murder. But now they have a sense of closure.
I haven't been able to sleep at night because of this ordeal. I figured if he could do this to her he could do it to anybody." Richardson said.
For the first time since the December killing, Richardson will feel safe in her own home again.
"I hope that he never gets out again. It's just hard for me to comprehend. Oh thank goodness. I'll probably be able to sleep tonight." Richardson said.
Karimu is facing three charges related to Hickey's death. They are Murder, Burglary, Felony Murder.
