Trial in 1974 Mass. slaying gets started

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- The murder trial of Fitchburg man accused of killing a woman nearly four decades ago has started.

A chemist and DNA analyst told a jury in Worcester Superior Court on Tuesday that a partial DNA profile generated from material found under the fingernails of victim Clara Provost matched the DNA of defendant Ronald Dame.

Prosecutors say Dame broke into the 23-year-old Provost's apartment in January 1974 intending to rape her and slashed her throat.

The now 65-year-old Dame has long been a suspect in Provost's death, but was not charged until 2006 when he was tied to the crime through DNA evidence.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that Dame's lawyer says his client was at his sister's house at the time of the slaying. That sister has since died.

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