No this is not a plot summary from the latest episode of Cold Case, but it might as well be: a local Republican councilman in Bridgewater Borough, Pennsylvania was arrested for the long-ago murder of 23-year-old Catherine Janet Walsh, who was found bound and strangled at home in her bed in 1979. Police finally cracked the case after receiving money through a federal grant program that allowed them to tie DNA evidence from the crime scene to Hopkins, who admits that Walsh had been his lover but denies that he is the murderer. The neighbors are predictably shocked, because Hopkins sure didn't seem like a raging psychopath. He even said hello to them all the time, just like a regular old non-murderer.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Rod Weaver, who lives next door to Hopkins, said the councilman "was always very friendly to me. I would see him in the backyard and he would say, 'Hi! How are you doing?' We never had any problems."

Tony Dorazio, co-owner of Precise Automotive, next to Hopkins' contracting business in Rochester Township, said Hopkins "has always been a good neighbor in the 26 years I've been here. Scott's always been friendly, very friendly. We borrow stuff off him, he plows (the parking lot) for us. I don't know that I've ever seen him angry. He always has a pretty cool head on his shoulders."

On the other hand, you probably need a pretty "cool head" to keep a murderous secret to yourself for three decades.

[Image via AP]