After 37 years, Phoenix police and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office have pinpointed a man responsible for the death of a 13-year-old girl.

MCSO detectives last week arrested and booked Raymond Corrella Diaz, 62, into the Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Amy Yachimec, 13.

Yachimec went missing from her family’s apartment in the 3500 block of West Van Buren Street in Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1981. The next day, her mother filed a missing persons report with the Phoenix Police Department.

Mr. Diaz, then 25, was considered a person of interest in the  investigation, but authorities at the time had insufficient evidence for an arrest, MCSO stated in a release.

Raymond Diaz (MCSO)

In May 1988, MCSO took over the case when new evidence led detectives to believe Yachimec was murdered in the agency's jurisdiction.

MCSO continued to work the case as a homicide investigation for decades, re-examining evidence and interviewing witnesses for any new leads.

Forward nearly 34 years later in March of 2015, DNA evidence linked Mr. Diaz to Yachimec's death.

The new and other evidence, along with witness statements, allowed MCSO to work with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit in arresting Mr. Diaz.

He was already serving a lengthy sentence at a state prison in Florence after convictions for kidnapping and sexual assault, among other crimes.

Court records indicate he was picked up on the warrant Sept. 27. A judge declared him ineligible for release. He had Oct. 4 arraignment and evidentiary hearings.

The Charley Project lists details of the case from 1981: http://charleyproject.org/case/amy-marie-yachimec.