Police arrest Kansas man 42 years after he is suspected of fatally shooting a 23-year-old mother and college student

• Steven Hanks, 68, was arrested for the 1980 murder of his neighbor, 23-year-old Mary Robin Walter.
• Walter was a wife, mother, and nursing student whose cold case has become the oldest to be solved in Kansas.

Over 40 years after 23-year-old Mary Robin Walter was shot to death, authorities have arrested and charged her former neighbor with murder.

Kansas authorities arrested Steven Hanks, a 68-year-old from Burden, and charged him with the second-degree murder of Walter, Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said at a press conference last week, according to the Associated Press.

"At 42 years and 10 months, we believe this is the oldest homicide arrest in the state of Kansas," Bellendir said, according to KSN-TV. A spokesperson for the Barton County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Sunday.

Walter – a wife, mother of one, and nursing student – was shot multiple times on January 24, 1980, in her trailer home in Great Bend, authorities said, per KSN. Walter and Hanks were neighbors at the time of the crime, though authorities did not disclose a motive, per AP.

At the time of the original investigation, Hanks was considered a person of interest, but the case went cold until investigators took "a fresh look at the case" in April, according to KSN. In October, authorities said they discovered new evidence, though they declined to say what the evidence was, according to AP.

"It became evident that some of the information had been initially overlooked, and some had been added at a later date. This was unknown to the original investigators," Bellendir said, per KSN. "I'm proud of my officers for clearing this case. Hopefully, it brings closure for the family and brings justice for the community."

Pamela Walter Cooper, Walter's daughter, told KSN that she had long ago forgiven the suspect and that those who would have been comforted by his arrest have already died.

Prior to this arrest, Hanks was arrested and convicted of criminal trespassing, battery, and attempted rape after he broke into a coworker's home repeatedly and started "kissing her and fondling her," KSN reported. He is being held in Barton County Jail, the outlet reported.