Her remains were initially found in November 1978, though the Chief Medical Examiner at the time estimated she had been dead since the previous June. Tucker’s death was ruled a homicide, but her identity remained undiscovered for over 40 years.
It wasn’t until about two years ago, the press release said, that authorities in Mass. began working with a Texas-based private forensic laboratory called Othram, which was able to analyze Tucker’s DNA profile. Using forensic genetic genealogy, a female relative living in Maryland was identified.
After contacting the relative, police were led to Tucker’s son, Matthew Dale, who was aged 5 when his mother disappeared. When compared, Dale and Tucker’s DNA was a 100% parent-child match.
Now that Tucker’s identity has been verified, an investigation to determine the cause and culprit of her death will be the authorities' next move.
According to police, one “person of interest” in the murder is Tucker’s husband at the time, Gerald Coleman. The two had gotten married in 1977 in Middletown, Connecticut and were living in East Hampton, Conn. at the time of her death. Coleman never reported his wife missing.
Despite the possibility of Coleman’s involvement, however, the questions around Tucker’s death may remain unanswered, as he died in state prison in 1996.
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source: people.com
