MEMPHIS - Memphis police say they have charged two men with a 20-year-old slaying after a creditable witness came forward.
The Commercial Appeal reports Phanhsay Phanivong and Sathit Ep, both 36, are charged with first-degree murder in perpetration of an attempted aggravated robbery in the 1994 death of 23-year-old Angela Perkins.
Police say Perkins' body was found near her car on Valentine's Day. She was on her way home from work at around 4 a.m. when she was shot.
She had been waitressing part-time at a tavern while working on a graduate degree in accounting.
At the time police speculated that she might have stumbled onto a robbery. She was able to call 911, but could only manage to say "I can't talk," before the line went dead. Her body was found a couple of hours later.
The witness who came forward in the case wasn't identified, but police said he remained silent for so long due to threats against him and his family.
"At least somebody's going to pay for the crime, which is a good thing," said sheriff's office spokesman Chip Washington. "There's closure when you have somebody locked up."
It wasn't immediately clear if the suspects have attorneys.