HAZLETON, Pa. — It's taken 57 years, but troopers now say James Forte is the one responsible for the gruesome death of Marise Chiverella.
Her death rocked Luzerne County and left the girl's family with no closure until now.
This is a moment Ronald Chiverella and his family have been waiting decades for.
"Now that we know the individual, it gives us a sense of closure," Ronald said.
It's a face and a name to the man who brutally killed his 9-year-old sister Marise back in 1964.
Police say 22-year-old James Forte kidnapped Marise off the street while she was walking to school, sexually assaulted and killed her.
Forte dumped the girl's body in a strip mine pit in Hazle Township hours after she went missing.
"Whether you like it or not, the way you lived changed after March 18, 1964," said Cpl. Mark Baron, lead investigator for the state police.
Troopers say it is the oldest case in state history to be solved through DNA evidence and one of the oldest in the country.
Forte died in 1980 of natural cases and won't be prosecuted, but police hope this still brings the Chiverella family closure and Marise justice.
"This has been a day that this family had been waiting for nearly 58 years, and as the Lieutenant said, even though we couldn't bring charges against Mr. Forte, I hope that this brings some type of closure for your family. I really do," Baron said.
Ronald says his family never gave up hope Marise's killer would be found.
"No full closure, we'll never have that, but a sense of closure that we know the individual that did it and that the individual isn't out committing the same crime and hurting other young girls like Marise," he said.
Investigators believe that Forte has committed more crimes.
If you have any information, you're being asked to contact State Police in Hazleton.