A man has been found guilty of murdering Cornish pensioner Joan Roddam was a close friend of her family.
Patrick Curran, 38, was convicted for strangling the 74-year-old at her home in Delabole in 2003. The jury at Truro Crown Court heard that Curran killed her when she rebuffed his sexual advances.
According to investigation Officers discovered he had burned clothes, as well as a computer hard disk drive, in a fire in his parents' garden. However, at the time they did not believe they had enough forensic evidence to place him at the scene.
Ten years later, police began a cold case review and officers were eventually able to match fibres found in Mrs Roddam's house to his clothes.
DNA found on the blanket Curran used to wrap around Mrs Roddam's body linked him to the scene, with forensics experts saying the chances of it not being Curran's were "a billion to one", the trial heard.
The family of Mrs Roddam, reacting to the unanimous verdict, said they could not understand why somebody so close to her would commit this crime.
Curran's mother cared for Mrs Roddam's husband during illness, and remained close to her after his death. Curran will be sentenced at Truro Crown Court on Tuesday 27th January.
