Nassau County police have solved a 1971 murder case using DNA evidence, identifying a deceased sanitation worker as the perpetrator of a home invasion that shocked Long Island more than five decades ago.

Thomas Generazio, who died of cancer in 2004, has been identified as the person who broke into Barbara Waldman's Oceanside home and killed her in 1971. The identification comes after decades of investigation into the cold case.

The resolution of the case has provided closure for Waldman's family, who expressed relief that their father's name has been officially cleared of suspicion after more than 50 years. Family members had lived under a cloud of suspicion since the original investigation.

Police used advanced DNA testing techniques to link Generazio to the crime scene evidence. The breakthrough represents one of the oldest solved cases in Nassau County's history and demonstrates how modern forensic technology can resolve decades-old investigations.

Generazio was working as a local sanitation worker at the time of the murder. Police have not disclosed what initially led investigators to examine his DNA profile or how the genetic evidence was obtained for comparison.