Cold case murder solved 29 years later: Estranged husband charged

By: The VNN Team  //  Crime

by Carol Thompson

The estranged husband of a woman strangled to death 29 years ago was recently found guilty by an Onondaga County, NY jury.

Ronald Scott Meadow, 62, of Georgia was found guilty of strangulating Colleen Meadow following more than six hours of jury deliberations. Meadow had always been the prime suspect in the 1985 murder, however, there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.

Last year, a risky DNA test was performed.  “There was some very, very low amount of biological material that (the lab) was willing to test, and there might not be enough, and (they) warned us the material could be destroyed,” District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said previously. The test did come back conclusive and Ronald Meadow was charged.

According to Syracuse Police Department reports, on March 5, 1985, at approximately 1:45 p.m., the body of Colleen Meadow, then 27, was discovered in her apartment by apartment complex staff; the manner of death was determined to be homicide. The apartment staff was asked to check her status after she failed to report for work at Niagara Mohawk that morning. She had been strangled, bound and hog-tied.

Following Colleen Meadow’s death, Ronald Meadow moved to the Atlanta area. He remarried three times and had a home in Paulding County.

His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12.

 

Image: Syracuse, NY Police Department