A Georgia girl was murdered in 1972. Her parents died not knowing her killer

Cold-case investigators worked for more than 20 years to identify the man who killed nine-year-old Debbie Lynn Randall

John and Juanita Randall died in recent years without ever knowing who kidnapped, raped and strangled their daughter after she went across the street from their family's home north of Atlanta, Georgia, to run an errand in 1972.

But authorities never stopped pursuing the truth about nine-year-old Debbie Lynn Randall's slaying, and this week, their community learned the identity of her killer. By all indications, it was a stranger who ultimately died by suicide, authorities announced, citing the results of an investigation that combined evidence collected shortly after Randall's death as well as DNA technology.