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1968 Homicide Victim Identified

After 57 years, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victim of a 1968 homicide, a breakthrough made possible through the dedication of our partner agencies and advancements in forensic genealogy. On April 28, 1968, deputies responded to a report from two individuals who discovered the body of a woman in a field near Lake Wheeler Road and Ten Ten Road, in Southern Wake County. The victim had been burned. A pathologist at the time described her as a white female, approximately 35 years old. Witnesses reported seeing a fire in the field on the night of April 27, 1968. The Wake County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) conducted an extensive investigation. Despite those efforts in 1968 and the years that followed, the victim had not been positively identified, and no arrests were made. In 2004, investigators uncovered new information pointing to Robert Reagan, a local resident, as a potential suspect. After a full investigation and consultation with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, evidence was sufficient to seek an arrest warrant for Reagan on the charge of murder. However, no arrest could be made, as Reagan had died just years prior in the 1990s. For the next two decades, investigators concentrated their efforts on identifying the victim, pursuing every tip and conducting multiple rounds of DNA testing without success. In 2024, with the assistance of the SBI, a sample of the victim’s hair was submitted to Astrea Forensics in another attempt to obtain a DNA profile. In 2025, Astrea Forensics successfully developed a profile for the victim. The results were analyzed by a forensic genealogist with First Genes LLC., leading to the identification of potential relatives. WCSO investigators recently met with those relatives, where additional DNA testing was able to confirm their relation to the victim and identify her as Myrtle Holcomb, born in 1919. At the time of her death, Myrtle was a young woman who had recently traveled to Raleigh from Florida. This long-awaited confirmation has finally restored her identity and provides much needed answers to her family, who respectfully request privacy and ask not to be contacted. “The entire Wake County Sheriff’s Office offers our sincere condolences to Myrtle’s loved ones. Our hope is that this information provides the family with long-sought answers and reassurance that she has not been forgotten,” Sheriff Willie Rowe said. “Our office does not put unsolved cases on a shelf never to be touched again. Investigators work diligently with the hope of one day closing every single one, no matter how long it takes.” We extend our gratitude to the SBI for their investigative assistance and funding support and to Astrea Forensics and Leslie Kaufman, with First Genes LLC, for their groundbreaking work. We also thank the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for their support throughout this investigation. Thank you to the community members who came forward with information on what happened that day in April 1968. “The men and women of the NC SBI send our love and support to the family of Myrtle Holcomb. The SBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to finding the truth in every case, no matter how long it takes. This case is an example of how technology is helping us advance these cases. The SBI has hope that, in time, the truth will be exposed in all cases and that those responsible will be held accountable,” said Chip Hawley, NC SBI Director. ____________________________________________ Thank you for watching this video. Please share and subscribe for more videos to learn more about the dedicated men and women of the Wake County Sheriff's Office. Wake County Sheriff's Office - Raleigh, N.C.