In 1994, Cheri Huss was found stabbed to death in her Desert Hot Springs apartment in a case that went cold for years.

Investigators found her stabbed multiple times and bitten by the attacker. They also found evidence that Huss fought off her attacker, which caused him to bleed and leave blood at the scene.

After conducting some tests, investigators determined that the blood and saliva left belonged to a male. For years investigators tried to find a match the DNA left at the crime scene.

Eventually, Huss’ case went cold with no leads.

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Team, which is led by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, began working on the case. In February 2022 the team made a break.

They used forensic genetic genealogy to identify 48-year-old Sharron Eugene Gadlin as a person of interest in the crime and found out that he lived in Thousand Palms in 1994 — about 12 miles from the Huss’ apartment.

The cold case investigators were granted a warrant to obtain a saliva sample from Gadlin on Feb. 14. A few days later on Feb. 18 they received confirmation from the state Department of Justice lab that the sample was a match to the DNA collected at the crime scene of Huss.

Investigators arrested Gadlin in Gardena and charged him for the murder of Huss. He was booked in at the Robert Presley Detention Center in lieu of a $1 million bail. He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

it was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.