Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com



A Hartland Township man charged in the 1997 cold case murder of a St. Clair County woman is due in court today.

54-year-old John Germain was arrested by Michigan State Police at his home in connection with the May 1997 slaying of 79-year-old Virginia Cecelia Farrell. She was discovered brutally beaten and stabbed to death in her Clay Township home.

An initial Michigan State Police cold case investigation in 2007 developed a DNA profile but no suspects were identified. It was a second cold case investigation started in 2019 and advancements in DNA technology that helped crack the case. DNA evidence was collected at the crime scene that gave police a lead.

Germain is charged with open murder, 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct during a felony, and breaking and entering a building with intent. He’s being held on a $1 (m) million dollar bond.

Germain is scheduled to appear before St. Clair County District Court Judge Michael Hulewicz this morning for a probable cause conference.