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Woman Charged In 1985 Delaware Homicide

WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS/AP) — New Castle County Police say a woman has been charged in the slaying of a man in Wilmington in 1985.

New Castle County Police Chief Col. Elmer Setting said at a news conference Monday that 50-year-old Sandra Hartzag was arrested Nov. 4 by police in Dalton, Georgia.

County police have obtained a warrant charging Hartzag with murder during the commission of a felony and other offenses.

Setting said on July 1, 1985, officers found 54-year-old Joseph Braun beaten to death in his Hern Road home in the Fairfax section of Wilmington. Braun's car was stolen and recovered in Philadelphia, police say.

Police say in 1999, investigators got tips linking a suspect to the crime. Detectives were given a lead that Hartzag -- the suspect's girlfriend -- was present and involved in the murder, but they couldn't locate her.

This cold case was reopened last month and investigators learned that Hartzag was arrested in Philadelphia in 2001.

Setting says it's difficult to put resources into old unsolved cases, but in this case it has paid off.

Hartzag is awaiting extradition to Delaware.

 

KYW's Steve Tawa contributed to this story...

 

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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