SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (TNND) — A nearly 46-year-old double homicide in Massachusetts has been solved after a fingerprint led to the arrest of a Florida man.

On November 19, 1978, police found 18-year-old Theresa Marcoux and 20-year-old Mark Harnish shot to death near Harnish’s green 1967 Dodge pickup off Route 5 in West Springfield. RIGHT Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.

“The officer saw that the driver’s side window of the truck was damaged and observed blood in and around the vehicle,” Gulluni noted. “The officer then discovered the remains of two individuals, a woman and a man, just over a nearby railing. Each victim appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.”

Officials added that both were last seen alive on the morning of November 19, leaving a party hosted by friends.

As the investigation progressed, physical and biological evidence was collected along with a latent print in what appeared to be blood on the passenger side vent window.

“The rest area was thoroughly searched for evidence, but no firearm was recovered,” investigators said.

It was concluded that Marcoux and Harnish had been shot while in the passenger compartment of the pickup, and their bodies were moved to the area where their remains were later discovered.

An autopsy determined the cause of death for each victim was multiple gunshot wounds.

“The spent projectiles were recovered from the remains of the victims and from the passenger area of ​​the van,” detailed Gulluni. “Ballistics examination concluded that the projectiles recovered were all fired by the same unknown firearm that was capable of firing .38 caliber ammunition.”

Over the years, the fingerprint found was entered into the Massachusetts Automated Fingerprint Identification System (or AFIS) and manually compared to approximately 70,000 known fingerprint cards.

Only recently did a person provide investigators with the name Timothy Scott Joley and his “alleged involvement in the deaths of Theresa Marcoux and Mark Harnish,” Gulluni said.

Law enforcement investigators with extensive experience in analyzing, comparing, evaluating and verifying fingerprints were then able to determine the print from Joley’s thumb.

“Investigators also learned that Joley was a licensed gun owner in November 1978 and that he purchased a Colt handgun approximately one month prior to the murders of Theresa Marcoux and Mark Harnish,” the statement said.

A complaint and arrest warrant were sought charging Joley, 71, of Clearwater, Fla., with the murders of Marcoux and Harnish. Springfield District Court issued a two-count murder complaint and an arrest warrant on October 29, 2024.

Joley was arrested on October 30 at his home in Florida and held without bail in the Pinellas County Jail before he waived extradition on November 5. Gulluni said he will be returned to Massachusetts to face the charges.