Charlotte-Mecklenburg police solve 1990 Cotswold murder, make arrest

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police made an arrest in a three-decade-old unsolved murder that has long been one of the city’s most notorious cold cases.

CMPD said Marion Gales was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the July 1990 killing of 32-year-old Kim Thomas Friedland in a Cotswold home. Gales, a former handyman who’s now 63, had long been a suspect, but was never previously charged.

CMPD Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said the department’s crime laboratory used new technology that led to Gales’ arrest.

"In this instance, newer technology that we've obtained allowed the lab to reevaluate evidence that was previously collected and was able to verify more clearly the profiles associated with those samples and which directly linked Mr.Gales to the incident location and to the victim," Butler said.

Butler also said CMPD has direct physical evidence that connects Gales to the scene and to Friedland. At one point, her husband was charged with her killing, but those charges were dropped.