Louisville Police say DNA identified neighbor as killer of woman in Crescent Hill neighborhood

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man and registered sex offender has been charged in the the murder of a 50-year-old woman in the Crescent Hill neighborhood after police said DNA evidence led to his arrest.

According to court documents, 66-year-old James Allen Peters of Louisville was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on May 18.

Peters is charged with killing 50-year-old Mary Solinger.

Police said on Monday, April 18, officers were called to a home on South Birchwood Avenue, near Frankfort Avenue in Louisville's Crescent Hill neighborhood, after someone reported that a person was found unconscious and unresponsive there.

When officers arrived, they saw Solinger's body.

According to an arrest report, police said there were indications of sexual assault at the scene, as well as strangulation marks on Solinger's neck and petechia -- or small broken blood vessels -- in her eyes.

Police said they were able to collect DNA evidence from the scene, and that evidence was ultimately linked to Peters, who was a neighbor of Solinger.

According to the arrest report, police also found Solinger's blood on some of Peters' clothing.

Peters was arrested by officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department Wednesday night and charged with murder. He is currently being held in Louisville Metro Corrections.

A not guilty plea was entered by a judge on his behalf during his initial court appearance Thursday morning. His bond was set at $1 million.

According to online records, Peters was listed on the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry for a first-degree Rape charge out of Nelson County.

That case took place in 1996, according to court documents. Police said in that case, Peters raped an 18-year-old girl and used a rope to choke her.

In 1997, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison in connection with that case. He was released in March 2018 after serving only 21 years of that original sentence.

Related stories: