NORTH CAROLINA, USA — A 13-year-old cold case murder may have been solved, according to investigators in North Carolina.
Joshua Richardson, a former Fort Bragg soldier, has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of 22-year-old Terrance Plummer Jr. back in 2010.
Richardson was arrested in the Houston area back in February and was recently extradited to North Carolina. According to WRAL, he's accused of stabbing Plummer 31 times after Plummer's body was found in a vacant apartment on Memorial Day weekend.
Police in North Carolina said advances in science helped link Richardson to the crime.
"The end of 2022, we used some new technology, some new methodology and we were able to get an identification on our suspect," Sgt. Jeff Locklear said. "We got him identified and we were actually able to conduct an interview with him and he's been extradited back to North Carolina."
According to police, Plummer was a member of the transgender community and went by the name 'Konomi.' Investigators haven't revealed a motive in the case, but Locklear said it wasn't a hate crime and that he's grateful for some closure after 13 years.
"It was kind of a surreal moment for me to get to call them and make that phone call," Locklear said. "And make that announcement that we had identified the person that had taken their loved one."
Richardson is charged with first-degree murder and will be tried in civilian court despite being a soldier at the time of the crime. He is currently being held without bond in the Cumberland County Detention Center.