CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- New details are becoming publicly available in the 1990 cold-case murder of Kim Thomas.
Less than two hours before the end of the year, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) released DNA evidence following a judge's order last March.
On July 27, 1990, officials say the then-32-year-old Kim Thomas was found dead inside her Cotswold home.
Authorities report that Thomas' husband, Dr. Edward Friedland, was originally charged with her murder four years after her death; however, those charges were later dropped without prejudice.
In November 2022, CMPD reported that Marion Gales' DNA potentially matched Thomas' case. DNA was originally collected from Gales while he was a suspect in another murder.
Gales is currently serving time in the Tabor Correctional Institution in Columbus County, N.C., and is expected to be released in March 2025, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.
In total, DNA from Kim Thomas and four men—Marion Gales, Dr. Edward Friedland, Elliot Friedland and E. A. Whitlock—was tested against evidence found at the crime scene.
According to the DNA reports, Thomas' DNA was consistently found to match throughout the samples, as expected. Some pieces of evidence matched both the DNA of her husband, Elliot Friedland, and Marion Gales.
In addition, the report finds that some of the male DNA collected was found to be inconclusive.
Read the full reports below:
A day after the DNA reports were made public, David Rudolf, longtime attorney for Dr. Friedland, released a statement decrying how the case has been handled, saying that CMPD has long had enough evidence to pursue charges against Gales: