WATERVILLE, Maine — After more than thirty years, an arrest and charge have been made in the 1987 murder of Janet Brochu of Waterville, Maine Public Safety Spokesperson Shannon Moss said in a press release Friday.
According to Moss, the 20-year-old Brochu was out with friends on Christmas Eve in Waterville when she separated from the group and disappeared. In March of 1988, more than two months after disappearing, Brochu was found dead in the Pittsfield's Sebasticook River.
On Thursday, Gerald Goodale, 61, was indicted and charged by a Somerset County Grand Jury for the murder. Goodale is an inmate at Warren's Maine State Prison, serving a sentence for the 1988 murder of Geraldine Finn.
Moss said detectives met with Goodale on Friday and told him about the Brochu charges.
Goodale was part of the initial police investigation into Brochu's disappearance and murder, according to Moss, but it wasn't until new evidence led detectives to take the case to a grand jury.
"It's always sort of bittersweet to bring some closure to these cases," Maine State Police Det. Jason Richardson told NEWS CENTER Maine Friday. "They're very near and dear to the hearts of so many people, including the investigators and the family members. It's certainly special to when we can kind of bring that closure."
This story will be updated.