A man from Massachusetts has been apprehended linked to the cold case murder of a young mother from 1988.

Sixty-five-year-old James Holloman, who lives in Dorchester, approximately 6 miles south of Boston, was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Friday morning, according to a statement from Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office.

Officials report that Holloman is charged with first-degree murder after his indictment and arrest by the Boston Police fugitive unit on Thursday in relation to the 1988 stabbing death of 25-year-old Karen Taylor, a resident of Roxbury, Boston.

DNA retrieved from fingernail scrapings of Taylor’s right hand indicated the presence of an “unknown male,” the statement explained.

In 2023, thirty-five years after the incident, Boston Police detectives matched a sample of Holloman’s DNA to that found under Taylor’s nails, the release detailed.

Detectives collected Holloman’s DNA from saliva found on the ground near his home last year, as reported by Boston 25 News.

“This is an instance of excellent investigative work by detectives and prosecutors utilizing modern forensic science,” stated Hayden. “Most importantly, it provides Karen Taylor’s family a chance to see justice served for her death after decades of uncertainty.”

Karen Taylor’s murder left a 3-year-old daughter behind

On May 27, 1988, when Taylor’s mother called, her 3-year-old granddaughter picked up the phone.

The little girl told her grandmother that her mother was “sleeping, and she couldn’t wake her up,” investigators reported.

Concerned, Taylor’s mother went to her Roxbury apartment to investigate. After entering the first-floor apartment through a window, she discovered Taylor lying face down in a pool of blood, according to authorities.

Investigators found that Taylor had sustained many stab wounds to her chest, head, and neck, totaling 15 stab wounds.

Murder suspect detained; no bail

Holloman was arraigned on Friday and has been ordered to remain held without bail, as stated in the release.

Holloman has pleaded not guilty, as reported by Boston 25 News.

The news outlet also revealed that prosecutors found Holloman’s DNA on the sleeve of Taylor’s gray sweatshirt and on a cigarette in her bedroom.

When Taylor was discovered, she was wearing a gray sweatshirt and a bra, both stained with blood, alongside two cigarettes and a paycheck made out to Holloman, according to the report.

Additionally, prosecutors mentioned that Holloman recently told police he had seen Taylor the day before her murder, contradicting his earlier statements to investigators decades ago in which he claimed not to have seen her for weeks. As reported by Boston 25 News.

Holloman is scheduled to appear in court again on October 29.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter with the National Trending Team at YSL News, covering breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery, and public policy. You can  follow her on Instagram, Threads, and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.