A suspect has been arrested and charged in a North Carolina cold case that lingered for more than three decades following the brutal killing of a community activist.
Marion Gales, 63, is accused of the murder of Kim Thomas Friedland, whose body was found inside her home on July 27, 1990, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police announced on Thursday.
Friedland was found stabbed to death and her throat had been slashed. DNA evidence was collected at the scene, but investigators at the time lacked the technology needed to fully analyze it.
But investigators said that recent advances in DNA testing allowed them to reexamine evidence collected at the crime scene and identify Gales as the suspect. The DNA report found Gales’ DNA on a rug beside the victim and on the victim’s body.
“This morning, our violent criminal apprehension team located and arrested Marion Gales based on work done by our cold case homicide detectives,” Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said at a press conference this week.
Shortly after Friedland’s murder, her husband, Dr. Ed Friedland, was initially named a suspect. He was arrested but later cleared due to a lack of evidence. Years later, newly developed DNA testing methods reopened the case.
Police say that Gales had worked at Friedland’s home before her death.
“It is a very laborious task in order to ensure accuracy in the process, in the results, in the verification of the results. And in many of our cases, we have DNA mixtures, which means that the presence of more than one DNA profile is present,” Chief Butler said.
“And with our previous technology, there were times when it was difficult to discern exactly what the profiles were that were in this mixture. And in this instance, newer technology that we’ve obtained allowed the lab to reevaluate evidence that was previously collected and was able to verify more clearly the profiles associated with those samples and which directly linked Mr. Gales to the incident location and to the victim.”
On February 19, authorities arrested Gales at his Charlotte home.
Police said Gales had recently been released from prison after serving time for the killing of another woman in 2008. Lacoya Martin was found dead behind her house and Gales’ DNA was reportedly found under her fingernails. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in that case and served 16 years.
Now, Gales is back behind bars, facing a murder charge in the killing of Friedland.
Despite the arrest, Butler said the investigation remains open.
“So, our cases are never complete until they’re complete,” Butler said.
“And I know that seems like a bit of a nebulous answer, but I’ll tell you that until the detectives feel that all evidence has been obtained, that all questions have been answered, I will tell you that we will never complete or say that our investigation is complete.”
