In 1975, 16-year-old Sharron Prior was kidnapped in Montreal after leaving home to meet her friends at a local pizzeria. Detective Éric Racicot took on the case in December 2021. He was the 14th investigator to try to crack the case police had been investigating for 48 years. By the time it reached his hands, 120 suspects had been identified. Racicot was determined to solve the case with the help of advancements in DNA technology.

He submitted several items of Sharron’s clothing from the crime scene, including a pair of pants to a lab that specializes in detecting DNA. That sample was then compared to samples in a genealogical database. That ultimately gave Racicot a last name for the investigation. Det. Racicot eventually traced the suspect’s last name to an American citizen, the late Franklin Maywood Romine of Putnam County, West Virginia. He was 28 at the time of Prior’s death and started his criminal career at the age of 11. Those DNA samples were then brought to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Montreal and analyzed.

Sitting with Sharron Prior’s mom, Yvonne, and twin sisters, Moreen and Doreen, Racicot shared the news they had been waiting for for more than 40 years -- they had finally found the murderer they’d been searching for.

Program contains mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.