PEMBROKE, MASS. (WHDH) - A decades-old cold case involving a Pembroke woman who was found brutally murdered in her home has finally been closed, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced Thursday.

Investigators have found Jesse Aylward responsible for the death of 59-year-old Virginia Hannon in 1984, Cruz said during a joint news conference with members of the Massachusetts State Police and Pembroke police.

A tipster waited until the day after Aylward died to turn him in, according to Cruz.

Cruz noted that Aylward’s DNA matched evidence that was found at the murder scene.

“We have exhausted all of the evidence that we currently have and it all points in the direction of Jesse Aylward,” Cruz said.

Investigators say Hannon was kicked, punched, stabbed, and strangled.

There is still no clear motive for the murder.

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