DNA from a cigarette led to murder charges in a 35-year-old cold case

• Earl Wilson, 55, was charged on Monday with first-degree murder in the death of Paul Aikman, the office for Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement.
• Aikman was stabbed in 1985.
• At the time of the murder, investigators found DNA on a cigarette at the scene but didn't find any matches.
• Last year, the DNA on the cigarette was linked to Wilson after a match in CODIS, the national DNA database.
• Wilson is already in prison serving a conviction for sexual battery in an unrelated case, according to prison records seen by CBS News.

An inmate in an Oklahoma prison was charged with murder after he was linked to DNA found on a cigarette marked as evidence in a 35-year-old cold case, according to the state's attorney general.

Earl Wilson, 55, was charged on Monday with first-degree murder in the 1985 stabbing death of Paul Aikman, the office for Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement.

DNA evidence had been taken from the cigarette in 1985 after it was found at the scene of the crime at a rest stop on Oklahoma's Turner Turnpike in Lincoln County.

At the time, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) agents found no matches.

But last year, the DNA on the cigarette was linked to Wilson after a match in CODIS, the national DNA database. Wilson's fingerprints were later matched to a latent fingerprint impression that had been taken at the crime scene.

"Advances in DNA technology are allowing authorities to take another look at these difficult cases," Hunter said in his statement about the charges. "Just because cases go cold doesn't mean someone shouldn't be held responsible, even after three decades."

CODIS is maintained by the FBI, and any DNA samples from convicted offenders, arrestees, and more are logged into the system. It's unclear why Wilson's DNA took so long to match the DNA on the cigarette.

Wilson is currently incarcerated in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections on a sexual battery conviction in an unrelated case, according to prison records seen by CBS News. He's being held at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre.

"For 35 years, Paul Aikman's family has ached not knowing who was responsible for his murder," OSBI Director Ricky Adams said in a statement. "Thirty-five years have passed, but we have not forgotten about Paul."

"Thanks to science and determined police work by OSBI agents and our Cold Case Unit, we are pleased to announce that the suspect in Paul's murder has been identified," he added. "I would like to give thanks Attorney General Hunter and his staff for taking this case, filing a murder charge and giving a voice to Paul and his family."

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