OPP Investigators Escorting The Accused From Florida
The individual accused of killing a woman and disposing of her body east of Ottawa in 1975 is on route back to Canada.
On December 1, 2023, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigators escorted Rodney Nichols from Hollywood, Florida to Ontario. The OPP was assisted in Florida by the U.S. Marshals Service-Office of International Operations.
NIchols was charged with murder in late 2022.
The accused remains in custody and is scheduled to make a virtual appearance before the Ontario Court of Justice in L’Orignal on December 2, 2023.
On May 3, 1975, the remains of a woman were found in the Nation River, a short distance from the Highway 417 bridge near the Town of Casselman. As her identity could not be determined at that time, she became known as the ‘Nation River Lady.’
In 2020, the victim was identified as 48-year-old Jewell ‘Lalla’ Langford (née Parchman). The OPP, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC), Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (OFPS) and Provincial Crown Attorney, have now begun to utilize advanced DNA testing, known as Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) testing or Forensic Genealogy. Through whole genome sequencing, the samples matched one collected from an individual listed in a family DNA tree.
As this case is now before the courts, the OPP cannot provide any additional information on the investigation.
