PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — A nearly half-a-century mystery in the brutal killing and rape of a teen in Canada appears to have been solved nearly 900 miles away - buried in a Putnam County, West Virginia, cemetery.

The body of Franklin Maywood Romine was exhumed Tuesday at a rural cemetery in Fraziers Bottom after DNA evidence linked him to the death of 16-year-old Sharron Prior.

On March 29, 1975, the teen left her home in Point St. Charles, a neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec, to meet friends at a nearby pizza parlor. She never made it to the restaurant.

Sharron Prior's rape and murder has been unsolved since 1975 and is considered one of the most high-profile cold cases in Canada. (Prior Family Photo Courtesy: sharronprior.com)

Three days later, her partially nude body was found in a field in Longueuil, Quebec, about 15 miles from where she was kidnapped.

Longueuil police said she had been raped and beaten to death. She was lying on her back in the snow, and her pants had been removed. Police said her underwear was found hanging from a nearby tree.

A crime scene photo taken by police at the time Sharron Priror's body was found in a field in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada on April 1, 1975. (Longueuil Police)

Investigators said white tape, which they believe was used to restrain her, was stuck in her hair and on her wrists. A blue T-shirt also had been used to restrain her.

An autopsy report concluded she died of asphyxiation and from numerous facial fractures.

{sd-embed class="sd-embedded-media" data-alt="SHARRON%20PRIOR%204.png" data-caption="An%20April%203,%201975%20newspaper%20article%20announces%20that%20Sharron%20Prior,%20who%20had%20been%20missing%20for%20three%20days,%20was%20found%20dead%20in%20a%20Longueuil%20field%20on%20April%201,%201975.%7B%7D%7Bp%7D%7B/p%7D" data-duration="" data-externalid="cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507" data-mediatype="image" data-renditions="%7B%22large16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22large16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:986,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-large16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22bff2b2c8-7c51-4f18-b435-e88dc7cd36c1%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22large16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22large16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22large16x9%22%7D,%22jumbo16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1320,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-jumbo16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%2242a32b36-c0c7-4698-853a-1e2dbbb38d9e%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22jumbo16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22jumbo16x9%22%7D,%22small16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22small16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:160,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-small16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22c91bd351-ecb2-4072-8fce-53354524fe66%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22small16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22small16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22small16x9%22%7D,%22full16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22full16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1280,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-full16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%2203214539-51df-4cd2-97b0-fa80f297bb1c%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22full16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22full16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22full16x9%22%7D,%22medium16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:648,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-medium16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%225252509a-92c8-4376-85a8-44113f240c0f%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22medium16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22medium16x9%22%7D%7D" data-thumburl="/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-medium16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101" data-title="Sharron%20Prior%20Newspaper%20Article" data-url="" data-defaultthumb="true" data-embed-file="%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cimg%20src=%22/resources/media/cef78478-8440-48ba-94a8-4fc255672507-medium16x9_SHARRONPRIOR4.png?1682090197101%22%20alt=%22%22%20/%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed-caption%22%3EAn%20April%203,%201975%20newspaper%20article%20announces%20that%20Sharron%20Prior,%20who%20had%20been%20missing%20for%20three%20days,%20was%20found%20dead%20in%20a%20Longueuil%20field%20on%20April%201,%201975.%3Cp%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%0A" data-embed-type="image" contenteditable="false" }<="" sd-embed="">{/sd-embed}

The case would eventually turn into one of Canada's most high-profile cold cases that saw more than 100 suspects investigated but never any arrests. Now, though, DNA evidence from the scene has linked a West Virginia man dead for 40 years to the crime.

"It's a combination of the most evil element in the human race, contacting the most innocent element in the human race – a child,” Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia said.

Mark Sorsaia has been the prosecuting attorney in Putnam County for decades. He was recently asked by Canadian authorities to assist in closing the 1975 cold case rape and murder of Sharron Prior after it was determined her suspected killer was buried at a cemetery in Fraziers Bottom. (WCHS)

The combination of evil and innocence has haunted Longueuil for nearly 50 years.

"Some things are worse than death - losing a child like that, for a family, for a mom. To know that your child died that way," Sorsaia said.

Prior's mother, Yvonne, 85, still lives in Canada. She, along with Sharron's surviving three siblings, have made it their life's mission to get justice for Sharron and find her killer.

Yvonne Prior is 85-years-old now and still living in Canada. This photo is from an article in the Montreal Gazette where she is holding a photo of Sharron Prior, 16. She, along with her three other children, have made it their life's mission to find the person responsible for her Sharron's rape and murder in 1975. (Pierre Obendrauf/The Montreal Gazette)

The Putnam County prosecutor had never heard of the case that had taken place so long ago until he got a call recently that Canadian cold case detectives believed Prior's killer was buried not far from where Sorsaia had grown up. He didn't hesitate to tell them he would do whatever he could to help close the case.

"There's a family. A guy killed and raped a girl. We're going to help our friends in Canada. We're going to be on the team, and we're going to get it done,"he said. "I don't care if it's 50-years-old or 3-months-old. When they called us, we were ready to go. I guess that's just the DNA of law enforcement."

In March, Sorsaia filed a petition for exhumation in Putnam County Circuit Court to find out if the man buried in at the Pine Grove Cemetery could really be the man who had raped and killed the girl in the most heinous of ways.

Franklin Maywood Romine was born in Huntington in 1946. Romine had a criminal record that started when he was a child. By 1964, when he was 18, he had made his first attempted escape from the West Virginia Penitentiary. He is now suspected of raping and killing Sharron Prior, 16, in Canada in 1975. (WV Penitentiary)

The case that Longueuil police had built against Romine was remarkable.

"What's amazing about the case is we found this guy, and he probably never gave a DNA sample in his life,"Sorsaia said. "I was just absolutely fascinated about how DNA can be used as a tool to find someone on a crime that happened more than 40 years ago when you don't even have a DNA sample from the person that did it."

During the decades of countless tips, suspects and interviews, Longueuil police said Romine's name had never come up in the investigation until last year. A DNA profile removed from the blue T-shirt used to restrain Prior and a sample from her pants and underwear, made it possible to target the last name of the suspect.

"Then they got the name Romine, so they just started looking at the criminal records,"Sorsaia said. "Well, they see this guy being very active in Canada and Montreal in the ‘70s - violent activity, in and out of jail. Then they start looking at the West Virginia criminal records, and then they see that he beat and raped a girl in Parkersburg and he got convicted of it."

Born in Huntington in 1946, Romine had a criminal record that started when he was a child. By 1964, when he was 18, he had made his first attempted escape from the West Virginia Penitentiary, according to law enforcement records provided to Eyewitness News.

{sd-embed class="sd-embedded-media" data-alt="ROMINE%20FINGERPRINTS.png" data-caption="Born%20in%20Huntington%20in%201946,%20Franklin%20Romine%20had%20a%20criminal%20record%20that%20started%20when%20he%20was%20a%20child.%20By%201964,%20when%20he%20was%2018,%20he%20had%20made%20his%20first%20attempted%20escape%20from%20the%20West%20Virginia%20Penitentiary,%20according%20to%20law%20enforcement%20records%20provided%20to%20Eyewitness%20News.%20Records%20also%20provided%20to%20Eyewitness%20News%20show%20Romine's%20fingerprints%20from%20the%20West%20Virginia%20Penitentiary.%7B%7D" data-duration="" data-externalid="94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358" data-mediatype="image" data-renditions="%7B%22large16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22large16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:986,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-large16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%226f5f19d4-980c-4852-bf48-95354b268d23%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22large16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22large16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22large16x9%22%7D,%22jumbo16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1320,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-jumbo16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22956640ca-e41c-451b-bd0e-4f93aba7e8ff%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22jumbo16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22jumbo16x9%22%7D,%22small16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22small16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:160,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-small16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22fed0a5d9-bfc3-4f3c-9e01-6ca50af2cde5%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22small16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22small16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22small16x9%22%7D,%22full16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22full16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1280,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-full16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22a23e6a6c-07fc-47d5-b1bf-d44828bc5629%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22full16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22full16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22full16x9%22%7D,%22medium16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:648,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-medium16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%224fa309d8-09d3-4978-b10a-affc5e9be9b9%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22medium16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22medium16x9%22%7D%7D" data-thumburl="/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-medium16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557" data-title="Franklin%20Romine's%20Fingerprints" data-url="" data-defaultthumb="true" data-embed-file="%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cimg%20src=%22/resources/media/94f1766e-a417-49c6-a74d-05708cb5c358-medium16x9_ROMINEFINGERPRINTS.png?1683145390557%22%20alt=%22%22%20/%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed-caption%22%3EBorn%20in%20Huntington%20in%201946,%20Franklin%20Romine%20had%20a%20criminal%20record%20that%20started%20when%20he%20was%20a%20child.%20By%201964,%20when%20he%20was%2018,%20he%20had%20made%20his%20first%20attempted%20escape%20from%20the%20West%20Virginia%20Penitentiary,%20according%20to%20law%20enforcement%20records%20provided%20to%20Eyewitness%20News.%20Records%20also%20provided%20to%20Eyewitness%20News%20show%20Romine's%20fingerprints%20from%20the%20West%20Virginia%20Penitentiary.%3C/div%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%0A" data-embed-type="image" contenteditable="false" }<="" sd-embed="">{/sd-embed}

Law enforcement records provided to Eyewitness News show previous mugshots for Franklin Romine and an interview request he made from the West Virginia Penitentiary.

Romine had been in and out of jail before his next escape from prison in 1967. Two years later, he would start committing crimes in Canada.

"You could track his location by his arrest. I mean, he is always getting in trouble. You could say, 'This date he's in West Virginia, this date he's in Canada and this date is in West Virginia,'" Sorsaia said. "We have a window. We can tell when he was incarcerated and when he was on the street. He's probably incarcerated half of the time, then he would be on the street and then he would go back to jail.”

In February 1974, deputies in Wood County said he broke into a house and raped a woman in Parkersburg. An Associated Press report said he was released on a $2,500 bond two months later and fled to Canada. Prior was raped and killed a year later.

{sd-embed class="sd-embedded-media" data-alt="WOOD%20RAPE%20SUSPECT%20RETURNED%20TO%20STATE.jpg" data-caption="An%20Associated%20Press%20article%20from%201976%20tells%20the%20story%20of%20Franklin%20Romine%20who%20had%20been%20returned%20to%20West%20Virginia%20after%20being%20captured%20in%20Canada.%20He%20was%20accused%20in%20a%20Feb.%201974%20rape%20in%20Parkersburg,%20West%20Virginia%20but%20fled%20the%20state%20shortly%20after%20he%20posted%20bond.%7B%7D" data-duration="" data-externalid="d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19" data-mediatype="image" data-renditions="%7B%22large16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22large16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:986,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-large16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176598%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%220728b182-68b2-4007-8014-57fbd3453909%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22large16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22large16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22large16x9%22%7D,%22jumbo16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1320,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-jumbo16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176598%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22d09dcfef-9332-490c-9457-2c022a4c3c76%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22jumbo16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22jumbo16x9%22%7D,%22small16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22small16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:160,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-small16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176599%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%2224aece44-6cb3-42f5-b21a-08d4e9217026%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22small16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22small16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22small16x9%22%7D,%22full16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22full16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1280,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-full16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176598%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22e8ba07b0-46db-4601-b826-a2b85b553f83%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22full16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22full16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22full16x9%22%7D,%22medium16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:648,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-medium16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176598%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%22f3d9c522-9536-4b71-9b9d-9d3ab294bdc8%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22medium16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22medium16x9%22%7D%7D" data-thumburl="/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-medium16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176598" data-title="Romine%20Returned%20to%20WV" data-url="" data-defaultthumb="true" data-embed-file="%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cimg%20src=%22/resources/media/d5b528d0-2560-4c9c-b3a0-ec55d243bf19-medium16x9_WOODRAPESUSPECTRETURNEDTOSTATE.jpg?1682090176598%22%20alt=%22%22%20/%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed-caption%22%3EAn%20Associated%20Press%20article%20from%201976%20tells%20the%20story%20of%20Franklin%20Romine%20who%20had%20been%20returned%20to%20West%20Virginia%20after%20being%20captured%20in%20Canada.%20He%20was%20accused%20in%20a%20Feb.%201974%20rape%20in%20Parkersburg,%20West%20Virginia%20but%20fled%20the%20state%20shortly%20after%20he%20posted%20bond.%3C/div%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%0A" data-embed-type="image" contenteditable="false" }<="" sd-embed="">{/sd-embed}

“So, we have window in his freedom corresponding to the death of the child in Canada," Sorsaia said.

Canadian border officials captured him in October 1975 and turned him over to the FBI, according to published reports. He was extradited back to West Virginia in January 1976 to face the Wood County charges. He was initially convicted during a trial for rape and burglary, but the West Virginia Supreme Court reversed the conviction and awarded him a new trial.

In April 1981, however, Romine pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in exchange for the burglary charge to be dismissed. He was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison but released soon after with credit for time served.

By 1982, he was back in Canada where he died in Verdun, Montreal, at the age of 36. How he died is a mystery. Detectives have not been able to find a death certificate but have said they believe his death was "violent."

Romine’s body was returned to his mother in West Virginia, where his family, due to what they said were "finances and tradition," dug his grave at the Pine Grove Cemetery.

But was the case that started in Canada enough to persuade a judge in West Virginia to allow the extraordinary step to exhume Romine’s body and prove once and for all that he was the killer?

Sgt. Eric Racicot, a detective with the Longueuil Police Department, was ready to lay the years of investigation of the case on the table and on the record for the first time in hopes that Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Stowers would agree that an exhumation was the only way to close the case.

"We can speculate all day on it, but we won't know the answer until we open the grave to see the remains," he told the judge during a hearing on April 6.

On April 6, 2023, a hearing was held in Putnam County Circuit Court before Judge Phillip Stowers on a petition that was filed by prosecutor Mark Sorsaia to exhume the body of Franklin Romine. (WCHS)

For nearly an hour, Racicot testified virtually about the facts of the case. He told the court how a 22-year-old woman named Cheryl Roy was nearly abducted at knifepoint in the same area and around the same time that Prior would have been walking to Marina Pizzeria.

"The suspect told her, in English, not to scream and to follow him. He also told her when she fought back, 'You b****, you're coming with me,' " Racicot said. "That is an important fact since the official language in Montreal was and still is French."

Roy told police at the time that the English-speaking man was white, in his late 20s and was about 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed about 200 pounds. He had brown hair, a mustache and was wearing a blue ski coat. Racicot said that description matches Romine's at the time.

An artist rendering shows the suspect who police said tried to abduct a 22-year-old woman before Sharron Prior was abducted in the same area while walking to a nearby pizzeria on March 29, 1975. (Stephan Parent - Investigative Filmmaker - Irresolus Channel)

A footprint found at the crime scene in Longueuil also would have matched Romine's suspected shoe size, Racicot testified.

The detective also told the court about the tire marks that were found in the snow-covered field where Prior's body was discovered. Detectives determined that the type of tire would have only been used on 37 models in 1975. One of those models was a Wrangler, the same type of car Romine bought from a woman who lived in Sharron's neighborhood, Racicot said.

"This address is only two blocks away from Sharron's house," he told the court.

But then Racicot dropped a bombshell - more damning evidence pointing to Romine and science that backed it up.

Noah and Michael Romine, two of Romine’s surviving brothers, voluntarily gave their DNA samples to police in December 2022.

"The comparison of the profiles showed several similarities between the profiles of Noah and Michael and the suspect's profile that was also linked to the blue shirt sample of the victim's and from the samples taken from the victim's pants and panties. The results showed that it is 140 million times more likely to come from the brother of Noah and Michael Romine than any other random person in the Caucasian population," court documents stated.

Watch Det. Sgt. Eric Racicot's full court testimony below:

Racicot testified that, in other words, “the profile of the killer obtained on the blue shirt comes from the brother of Noah and Michael Romine, but it's not one of them.”

One of the brothers spontaneously told Huntington police, who were taking the DNA sample from him, that Romine probably did murder Prior, Racicot said. The brother also told detectives that Romine had tried to rape his wife while he was serving in the U.S. Marines.

"As a result, he and his brother were never close again," Racicot said.

When it came to digging up their brother's body, the siblings did not agree. They sent a letter to the court saying they "vehemently protest" the exhumation of his remains.

"We were told that the family of the victim wants closure. We completely understand and have deepest sympathy for the family. However, we fail to understand why this is necessary as we’re told that if they do exhume him, there might not be enough DNA to prove anything," the letter stated.

The siblings also said that it would be impossible to exhume Romine's body without disturbing their mother's, who is buried directly beside him.

"We are willing to stipulate that our brother is guilty of this crime, and you can inform the family that he did it and has been dead since 1982," the letter said.

Racicot was clear to the court that he did not wish to cause any harm to Romine's surviving family.

Franklin Romine's headstone at the Pine Grove Cemetery in Putnam County, West Virginia. (WCHS)

"That's why we want to get a DNA of Franklin Romine on his burial site. We don't want to cause any prejudice against the Romine family. We only want to ease the pain of the victim's family," the detective testified. "We think the only way to do that is by opening the casket of Franklin Romine to get his DNA and confirm once and for all that he is the killer of Sharron Prior."

Judge Stowers agreed with Racicot.

“They have, in fact, very narrowly, before they took such a step to exhume a body, have meticulously decided in investigating the murder of Sharron Prior that they’ve developed DNA evidence, they’ve developed location information, they’ve developed automobile information, body and build information relating to the decedent," Stowers said directly following Racicot's testimony. "The court believes that, given that, that there is sufficient cause here to order that the body be exhumed and that information for DNA purposes that needs to be retrieved will be permitted.”

Watch Judge Phillip Stowers entire ruling from the bench below:

A little more than three weeks after Stowers' crucial ruling, it was exhumation day.

On May 2, 2023, Longueuil police, along with members of the FBI, West Virginia State Police and Putnam County Sheriff's Office, met at the cemetery to begin the exhumation with the help of a local funeral home.

The body of Franklin Romine was exhumed on May 2, 2023 at the Pine Grove Cemetery in Putnam County, West Virginia. (WCHS)

"This was a big case at the time. Today, to be able to go in (West) Virginia, hoping to find a good suspect in this case and maybe give some answers to the family maybe that has been with us for the last 48 years in this case. It will be a big relief for us, and it will be a major relief for the family," Longueuil Police Sgt. Francis Charette told Eyewitness News.

Sgt. Francis Charette of the Longueuil Police Department speaks to WCHS reporter Leslie Rubin on scene of the exhumation of Franklin Romine on May 2, 2023. (WCHS)

Charette said Sharron's family was critical in their investigation over the years and advocating that her case was never forgotten.

"The family for sure will be emotional about this because they followed the investigators, every time they have a lead on the investigation. They try to help us, they did some research for us," Charette said. "They were really, really big partners on this investigation."

After hours of digging with an excavator, crews had reached Romine's casket that laid inside a steel vault. It had filled with water, which was pumped out of the grave to allow investigators to use a ladder to climb inside and open the vault.

Sorsaia said he can't be absolutely sure a good DNA profile will be obtained from the exhumation, but he thinks “there's a good likelihood.”

Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia talked with Putnam County Sheriff Bobby Eggleton on the scene of the exhumation of Franklin Romine on May 2, 2023. (WCHS)

Several bones and other evidence were retrieved from the casket and placed into Longueuil police evidence bags that were taken back to Canada to be tested in an effort to make the definite match to Romine.

Stowers was very clear in his ruling that the disturbed area in the cemetery was to be returned to its previous condition.

"The court will also suggest in that order that the desires of the Romine family regarding protecting graves, important graves relating to their mother, that I have been advised are next to this area, that the mother's grave be protected. That the grave be restored and properly placed back after any of the work that this court is required be done," Stowers said. "I don't want it more disturbed than necessary, but it is the court's opinion that this has to be done."

{sd-embed class="sd-embedded-media" data-alt="dig4.jpg" data-caption="The%20body%20of%20Franklin%20Romine%20was%20exhumed%20on%20May%202,%202023%20at%20the%20Pine%20Grove%20Cemetery%20in%20Putnam%20County,%20West%20Virginia.%20Detectives%20from%20the%20Longueuil%20Police%20Department%20traveled%20to%20West%20Virginia%20in%20an%20effort%20to%20collect%20DNA%20from%20Romine's%20grave%20that%20they%20believe%20will%20be%20a%20match%20to%20the%20person%20who%20killed%20Sharron%20Prior%20in%201975.%7B%7D%20(WCHS)%7Bp%7D%7B/p%7D" data-duration="" data-externalid="b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c" data-mediatype="image" data-renditions="%7B%22large16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22large16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:986,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-large16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%225dc206a9-c510-48f5-a343-dd4e550fe4cc%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22large16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22large16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22large16x9%22%7D,%22jumbo16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1320,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-jumbo16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%228b1024a7-03f0-49e5-b56e-76b10bd3e6d0%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22jumbo16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22jumbo16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22jumbo16x9%22%7D,%22small16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22small16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:160,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-small16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%2293deac8c-8341-43a6-bf09-fddbc1ddd1c8%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22small16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22small16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22small16x9%22%7D,%22full16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22full16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:1280,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-full16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%2236af6ef4-62bc-4546-bd60-7d73f3095b98%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22full16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22full16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22full16x9%22%7D,%22medium16x9%22:%7B%22blurSigma%22:-1,%22height%22:720,%22label%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22scaleWidth%22:648,%22url%22:%22/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-medium16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608%22,%22width%22:1280,%22x%22:0,%22y%22:0,%22uuid%22:null,%22id%22:%224608beb2-b5d6-482c-b088-c5a591ef73d8%22,%22preciseWidth%22:null,%22preciseHeight%22:null,%22name%22:%22medium16x9Url%22,%22rendition%22:%22medium16x9%22,%22labelOrConvertedName%22:%22medium16x9%22%7D%7D" data-thumburl="/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-medium16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608" data-title="Exhumation" data-url="" data-defaultthumb="true" data-embed-file="%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cimg%20src=%22/resources/media/b7718d0c-0f35-4be6-8364-e6cb480dbb6c-medium16x9_dig4.jpg?1683131280608%22%20alt=%22%22%20/%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cdiv%20class=%22sda-ImageEmbed-caption%22%3EThe%20body%20of%20Franklin%20Romine%20was%20exhumed%20on%20May%202,%202023%20at%20the%20Pine%20Grove%20Cemetery%20in%20Putnam%20County,%20West%20Virginia.%20Detectives%20from%20the%20Longueuil%20Police%20Department%20traveled%20to%20West%20Virginia%20in%20an%20effort%20to%20collect%20DNA%20from%20Romine's%20grave%20that%20they%20believe%20will%20be%20a%20match%20to%20the%20person%20who%20killed%20Sharron%20Prior%20in%201975.%20(WCHS)%3Cp%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%0A" data-embed-type="image" contenteditable="false" }<="" sd-embed="">{/sd-embed}

Charette was optimistic their decades of investigation into Prior's murder was close to being solved.

"We want the family to know we never gave up on this investigation," he said right before police left the cemetery to return to Canada. "We're now really, really, really close to finding out some answer for them."

Sorsaia said investigators in West Virginia were looking at unsolved rape and murder cases to which Romine could be connected.

"It opens another door that we are obviously exploring. We are looking around in West Virginia for possible unsolved crimes dealing with sexual assault and murder and the disappearance of young ladies," the prosecutor said. "We might have the ability to solve something else."

Longueuil police tell Eyewitness News that they met with Prior's family on Thursday to give them, for the first time, the name of the man suspected of killing her.

Det. Lt. Sophie Tougas said all of the evidence retrieved during Tuesday's exhumation has been sent to the lab for testing and results are expected within two weeks.

Editor's Note:Eyewitness News would like to acknowledge and thankIrresolus Channel Investigative Filmmaker Stephan Parent for several video clips in the on-air report.