Suspect in 1974 Stanford cold case kills oneself as a deputies approach

SAN JOSE, Calif. –

Officials say that a suspect in a cold case from four decades ago at Stanford University appears to be killed while MPs were preparing to serve a search warrant Wednesday morning

. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office was trying to contact a suspect who they believe is linked to the 1974 murder of a Stanford student's wife, found dead in the interior. Memorial Church on the campus of the university. 13, 1974, Arlis Perry – A 19-year-old Bismarck, ND – was found dead at the back of the church by security guard Steve Crawford, according to the Stanford Daily

Perry, Stanford Daily reported, "Died of a jack of ice-throwers at the back of her head, she had been molested with a three-foot candlestick, a candlestick had been pushed back to her gown she was had also been beaten.

Sheriff Laurie Smith told ABC7 News The suspect appears to be fired in his apartment on Camden Avenue, near Kooser Road, before getting in direct contact with deputies .

"There was someone who had been suspicious in the case for a long time," Smith said. . "We just did not have the proof, but there was no strong link, and I think now we have the strong bond."

Smith stated that the investigators "were focused on him as a suspect" in

It is still unclear whether the words were exchanged before a shot was fired be fired, but Smith confirms that this was not the case a shot involving officers. Smith said that the man had been a suspect for some time and that the DNA evidence was recently tested again.

"We have a homicide unit and they have been actively working on this case since 1974," Smith said. "There have been a lot of technological advancements in the field of DNA, and we have been able to get more information that led us to believe that it was the suspect, and it was That's why we were able to do the search warrant today. "