BEAUMONT, Texas — An Ohio man accused of murdering a Beaumont teacher 26 years ago is now behind bars in Southeast Texas.
Clayton Foreman, 61, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, was transported to the Jefferson County Jail on June 15 after DNA evidence and a genealogy database led to his arrest on a capital murder charge.
He had refused to leave his Ohio jail cell to go a previous extradition hearing in early May. On June 3, Foreman was ordered by an Ohio judge to be brought back to Jefferson County for trial regarding the murder and sexual assault of the Beaumont teacher.
Mary Catherine Edwards, 31, was last seen alive on January 13, 1995. The next day, her parents became concerned after phone calls went unanswered.
When they went to her house to check on her, they found her drowned in an upstairs bathroom. Evidence showed that she had been sexually assaulted before she was killed, according to a DPS news release.
The probable cause affidavit says that Edwards was found in a bathtub with her hands handcuffed behind her.
During the investigation into Foreman, detectives discovered he pled guilty to raping a classmate at Forest Park High School in 1981. Police say that rape had a number of similarities with Edwards' murder.
Related : Ohio judge orders suspect in 1995 murder of Beaumont teacher be returned to Jefferson County
Edwards, who was found dead in her home, was also a bridesmaid in the wedding of Foreman and his first wife, Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham told 12News previously.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by 12News, DNA from semen collected from Edwards' home was matched back to Foreman 26 years later thanks to a genetics website.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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