A Boston Man Spit on the Sidewalk Outside His House. DNA from His Spit Was Used to Solve a Decades-Old Murder

A Boston man has been charged with murder after prosecutors say DNA from saliva he spit on the sidewalk was connected to an unsolved 35-year-old murder.

James Holloman, 65, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Friday after he was arrested Thursday in connection to the death of 25-year-old Karen Taylor, as reported by WCVB.

Taylor's 3-year-old daughter answered the phone on May 27, 1988 after Taylor's mother tried to call her, officials said. The toddler told her that Taylor was sleeping and she could not wake her up.

Taylor's mother went to her apartment in Roxbury, and was forced to climb in through an open window after she could not get the front door open, officials said. There, she found Taylor laying face-down in a pool of blood.

Officials said that Taylor had been stabbed 15 times. Boston Police were able to pull forensic evidence from under Taylor's fingernails, but were unable to find a match.

That was until last year, when Holloman spit outside his Dorchester home, and prosecutors were able to link his DNA to the fingernails, a cigarette and sweatshirt found at the crime scene, as reported by CBS Boston.

Assistant District Attorney Lynn Feigenbum said that a paycheck given to Holloman was also found nearby Taylor's body on the day of the attack, as reported by WCVB.

Holloman is being held without bail. He is due back in court next month.