OMAHA, Neb. (NewsNation) — The 1979 cold case murder of a Nebraska mother and her 7-year-old son has been solved, according to police.
Abdulmalik Husain, 68, formerly known as Louis Walker, was arrested last week and charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of Deroshia Matthews, 26, and her son, Kamal, 7.
Police said the department’s Cold Case Squad followed leads for several years. Recent “DNA testing and other investigative information” led to Husain’s arrest on Wednesday, police said in a news release.
On April 24, 1979, officers responded to a call at 4264 Binney Street to investigate a possible abduction and burglary. Officers entered the residence and found Kamal and Deroshia Matthews dead.
“Murders are never forgotten, and justice has no expiration date. The depraved nature of this double homicide—one victim being a child—was bound to receive our utmost attention. Our commitment to these victims and their family never wavered,” said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer.
Lt. Nicholas Andrews told NewsNation that Husain was on their radar for some time.
“Detectives back in 1979 interviewed him several times,” said Andrews. “And then the case, unfortunately, went cold for a long period of time, until 2004 when new evidence was linked thanks to that [DNA] database. That was huge in breaking that case at the time.”
Andrews, however, said, “Some things didn’t work out with the court proceedings.”
“The prosecutors decided to dismiss without prejudice — which was good news for us,” he said. “We were able to continue to investigate that case and continued working and looking at new angles with new technology and DNA. That’s what ultimately cracked the case in 2021.”