37°
Howard Jackson Bradberry, Jr., 62, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of the rape and murder of Laney Lee McGadney in 1982, according to multiple reports.
Bradberry was arrested at his home back May 2021 after DNA test results linked him to the 1982 crime scene where the body of McGadney was found.
“Nothing will ever erase the pain of losing a loved one in such a violent and tragic way", said Police Chief Lisa Myers following the 2021 arrest. "Our cold case investigators are committed to bringing justice for victims and families, no matter how much time has passed".
McGadney left her apartment in Columbia on March 29, 1982 to walk to a grocery store in the Owen Brown Village Center. Witnesses described seeing McGadney being abducted as she walked along Oakland Mills Road. Her body was discovered the same day in a vacant lot, now known as Water Lily Way. McGadney, a mother of four children, had been raped and stabbed to death. She was 28.
Police were finally able to link DNA collected at the scene to a suspect in early 2021, resulting in the arrest and conviction of Bradberry.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Columbia and receive free news updates.
