MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) - Deanna Lee Criswell, a 1987 homicide victim has been identified thanks to DNA testing. Her killer has also been identified.

Sgt. Chris Warren with the Marana Police Department tells KGUN9 that on November 1987, officers were led to the body of Criswell in an area along I-10 between Orange Grove and Tangerine.

Criswell had been shot to death, but at the time, authorities were unable to identify her body.

In March 2009, the case was reopened because of advances in forensic science and new investigation techniques.

In November 2011, DNA tests revealed who the killer was, said Warren.

William Ross Knight was serving a life sentence for a series of armed robberies in Washington and Arizona.  He died of cancer in prison in 2005.

Information about the case and the crime made its way on to social media sites and Marana Police received a lead in the case, said Warren.

Relatives of Criswell had been searching for their niece and read about the case on the internet, said Warren. After seeing photos of facial reconstruction and details of the case, they contacted the Marana Police Department.

The information from the couple lead to family members submitting DNA samples for testing.

On February 10, the Arizona Department of Public Safety's Crime Lab returned result concluding the 1987 murder victim was Deanna Lee Criswell of Spokane, Washington.