Man, 80, charged in 1973 killings of women in beach cottage

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Police in Virginia say an 80-year-old New York man has been arrested for the slaying of two young women more than 45 years ago.

The Virginia Beach Police Department announced the arrest Tuesday of Ernest Broadnax of Queens, New York, on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of rape. He’s awaiting extradition to Virginia.

Janice Pietropola and Lynn Seethaler were both 19 and on vacation from the Pittsburgh area when they were found dead June 30, 1973, in a cottage near the Atlantic Ocean.

Police did not say how they linked Broadnax to the slayings. The department statement said its cold case unit followed up on leads and sought out “advanced forensic technology.”

They thanked the FBI, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and New York law enforcement officials.