A Kansas man was arrested last week for the cold case murder of a 23-year-old nursing student and mother who was found fatally shot in her home.

Steven Hanks, 68, is facing a second-degree murder charge in the 1980 slaying of Mary Robin Walter.

"This case has been open ever since I've been a law enforcement officer," Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said during a news conference Friday, KAKE reported. "I started with the sheriff's office in 1982. This has been an irritation for the sheriff's office that we've never been able to close this case."

Walter, a nursing student at Barton County Community College, was discovered inside her Great Bend trailer on the evening of Jan. 24, 1980. She had been shot multiple times.

Hanks, Walter's neighbor, was a person of interest after her murder but was never arrested because there wasn't enough evidence.

"Over the years, numerous detectives have looked at the case and were not able to obtain any information that would assist in prosecution," Bellendir said.

Steven L. Hanks. Barton County Sheriff’s Office

Bellendir said Detective Sgt. Adam Hales reopened the case in April.

"After taking a fresh look at the case, it became evident that some of the information had been initially overlooked and some had been added at a later date," Bellendir said. "This was unknown to the original investigators."

Investigators "tracked down numerous individuals that had been involved in the case in the 1980s and many interviews were conducted as far away as the Pacific Northwest."

In October, new evidence was found that allowed investigators to submit the case to prosecutors.

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In a statement, Walter's niece, Leslie Schrag, said the family was "grateful for detectives' efforts to bring Walter's murderer to justice. "Robin was truly beautiful inside and out," Schrag said, KWCH reported. "This world was robbed of her presence, and we will never know how that has shaped our lives. [Friday's] news is bittersweet. Many of those who knew Robin are gone. Her parents, husband and a sister will not get to share in our collective relief that Robin's case will have a conclusion."

Hanks is being held on a $500,000 bond, according to KWCH. It is unclear if he's entered a plea or retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.

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