A family is taking their first steps toward closure in a 17-year-old rape and murder case.
Kenya Edwards was raped and murdered in 1998. This week, her family got their first look at the man say police is responsible for the young mother's death.
Edwards' body was found in the basement of a home on the 3800 block of North Tacoma Avenue. Investigators said it had been set on fire.
Detectives worked hard to piece together exactly what went on inside the house that day. From the autopsy, police learned the brutality of the crime. A coroner determined Edwards' chest cavity had been incinerated.
Police were never able to link anyone to the crime until cold case detectives matched 58-year-old Johnny Jones' DNA with DNA found on Edwards' body – a person Jones says he didn't know and never had contact with.
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For Edwards' mother, Jones' arrest was an answered prayer.
"I had been praying for this," said Kathleen Townsend, Edwards' mother. "God is a long time God. You pray and you believe and he'll bring it to you."
Her relief is shared with her daughter's best friend, Martia Carter. She says she's still haunted by the crime.
"I don't never want to be a part of something like this ever again in my life," Carter said. "This is the hardest 17 years I've ever been through. This part is just like it happened yesterday."
Despite Jones' denial, his family and friends apologized for the Edwards' family's suffering.
"We're just sorry for what her family has been through for all these years," said Tracey Hawkins, Jones' friend.
Edwards was a mother of three. Her children are now 25, 18 and 17.
Jones will be returned to Wabash Valley Correctional Facility while he awaits trial. His next court date was set for Dec. 9.
