WATCH: Cold case- 1968 murder of milkman solved (VIDEO)

The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office in south-east Florida in America says it solved the oldest cold case in its history – the murder of Hiram “Ross” Grayam, a decorated WWII veteran.

Grayam witnessed the horrors of the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of two concentration camps. Upon returning to Indian River County after the war, he became a beloved milkman, the Sherriff’s office said in a statement.  

In April of 1968 Grayam set out on his familiar delivery route. However, he did not return home after work. The IRCSO launched a search and located Grayam’s body and truck deep in the words. He had been shot several times, but despite all their efforts, the killer eluded justice for 56 years.

Now, almost six decades later, the so-called “Milkman Homicide” has been solved, reports CBS News.

Watch the ‘Milkman Homicide’ case explained:

Thomas J. Williams has been identified as Grayam’s killer. He died in 2016. The case then went cold until 2006 when Larry Grayam, the victim’s son who was 16 years old when his father was killed, was interviewed by a local media outlet about the case. The alleged killer saw the interview.

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Case went cold until interview

The station reported the case went cold for decades, until 2006 when Grayam jnr. was interviewed by a local media outlet about the case — an interview that the alleged killer saw.

Williams responded by writing a letter to the editor of the Press Journal where the interview was run.

“At that point he wasn’t on anybody’s radar, but he interjected himself into the crime and became a suspect,” Grayam junior said.

Williams denied knowledge of the murder and told detectives he was not involved, TCPalm reported. He was dismissed as a suspect along with several other suspects in the following years.

In February 2022, detectives reconsidered Williams after an inmate at Indian River County jail told them he confessed to him that he killed the milkman in 1968.

New information emerges after decades

With the new information, detectives then found a woman in Miami who had been married to Williams and spoke with her in December 2023.

According to her, Williams gave her the exact same account which gave detectives to independent witnesses who both say he confessed to the killing.

Williams was said to be a career criminal who, in detectives’ interviews, was implicated in other killings.

The identity of a second person implicated in the murder is known to the police, but they declined to name him.