Murder victim’s sister speaks out after arrest in 1988 cold case

An arrest was made on Thursday in a 30-year-old cold case, all thanks to DNA evidence.

It was June 5, 1988, when Mary Lynn Renkel Vialpando was found raped and murdered behind a business in Colorado Springs.

Her sister, Cynthia Renkel, says it’s the first time, in a long time that their family feels they’re close to getting some answers.

As she looks at pictures of her younger sister, Mary Lynn, she can’t help but get emotional.

“I was 14, I remember taking care of her,” she said.

Thirty years after her sister’s murder, she still has so many questions.

“I don’t really know what closure is. I have no closure,” she said.

Thanks to DNA evidence, police have finally made an arrest.

“It was the only break we had really heard of in the whole investigation,” she said.

And after years of waiting, she now knows police believe the man behind the crime is James Edward Papol, a man she says she’s never met.

“I certainly don’t know who he is,” she said.

Although he’s a stranger to her, Papol is no stranger to the law.

He’s been charged with many violent crimes for decades including harassment, assault, and kidnapping.

Renkel says after looking at his mugshot, she can only think of a few words to describe him.

“He looks like a monster, that’s all I can say,” she said.

Despite his rap sheet, he’s never been in prison.

In several cases, Papol has used the insanity defense to plead not guilty.

Something Renkel hopes he doesn’t get away with again.

“I do hope that the criminal justice system can really see what’s happening here and he needs to be incarcerated,” she said.

A place she hopes he can stay in for the rest of his life.

Papol is being held in the El Paso County jail, with no bond.

When we tried to get more information on how he was caught, we learned his arrest papers have been sealed.