SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (TNND) — An almost 46-year-old double murder in Massachusetts has been solved after a fingerprint led to the arrest of a Florida man.

On Nov. 19, 1978, police discovered Theresa Marcoux, 18 and Mark Harnish, 20, shot to death near Harnish's 1967 green Dodge pickup truck near Route 5 in West Springfield, according to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.

"The officer saw that the driver's side window of the truck was damaged and noticed blood in and around the vehicle," Gulluni noted. "The officer then discovered the remains of two individuals, one female and one male, just over a nearby guardrail. Each victim appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds."

Officials added they were both last seen alive on the morning of Nov. 19 leaving a party hosted by friends.

As the investigation moved forward, physical and biological evidence was collected along with a latent print in what appeared to be blood on the passenger-side vent window.

"The rest area was thoroughly searched for evidence, yet no firearm was recovered," investigators said.

It was concluded that Marcoux and Harnish had been shot while in the passenger compartment of the pickup truck and their bodies were moved to the area where their remains were later discovered.

An autopsy determined the cause of death for each victim was multiple gunshot wounds.

"Spent projectiles were recovered from the victims’ remains and the passenger area of the pickup truck," Gulluni detailed. "Ballistics examination concluded that the recovered projectiles were all fired from the same unknown firearm which was capable of firing 38-caliber ammunition."

Over the years, the print that was found was entered into the Massachusetts Automated Fingerprint Identification System (or AFIS) and manually compared to approximately 70,000 known fingerprint cards.

It was not until recently that an individual provided the name Timothy Scott Joley to investigators and his "purported involvement with the deaths of Theresa Marcoux and Mark Harnish," Gulluni said.

Law enforcement investigators with extensive experience in fingerprint analysis, comparison, evaluation and verification were then able to determine the fingerprint originated from Joley's left thumb.

"Investigators have also learned that Joley was a licensed gun owner in November 1978 and that he purchased a Colt handgun approximately one month before the murders of Theresa Marcoux and Mark Harnish," the release stated.

A complaint and arrest warrant were sought charging Joley, 71, of Clearwater, Florida with the murders of Marcoux and Harnish. The Springfield District Court issued a two-count murder complaint and arrest warrant on October 29, 2024.

Joley was arrested on Oct. 30 at his home in Florida and held without bond at the Pinellas County Jail before waiving extradition on Nov. 5. Gulluni said he will be returned to Massachusetts to face the charges.