Florida police announce murder indictment in 43-year-old cold case

The Miramar Police Department announced an arrest this week in a four-decade old cold case murder, crediting advancements in DNA technology for cracking the case. 

Ronald E. Richards, who is currently in prison in Ohio for separate crimes, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexual battery and murder for allegedly killing Evelyn Marie Fisher-Bamforth on Jan. 22, 1980. 

Richards, 75, lived just 12 houses away from Fisher-Bamforth in a mobile home park. He was previously a person of interest in the case, but there was never enough evidence to make an arrest. That changed thanks to technological advancements, according to police. 

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“Due to advancements in DNA technology and the diligence and hard work of Detective Johnathan Zeller, Ronald Eugène Richards has been indicted for sexual battery and murder,” Miramar Police Department spokesperson Tania Rues said in a statement, according to WSVN. “We are one step closer to [obtaining] justice for Evelyn.”

Richards was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to 50 years for a separate murder and sexual assault out of Volusia County that took place in March 1980, according to Florida Department of Corrections records. He is currently imprisoned in Ohio for separate crimes. 

Fisher-Bamforth’s murder was the oldest cold case in the Miramar Police Department’s history.