Accused Cold Case Killer in Court

MILWAUKEE -- A man accused of a cold case murder more than 20 years after the fact appeared in court Thursday. Melvin Jones is already behind bars for another crime but today the family of Ophelia Preston is taking another step towards getting some closure.

Police spent years trying to pin down the killer of Ophelia Preston. Preston was raped, strangled, and thrown in a Milwaukee dumpster two decades ago. She went missing on the way home from buying her daughter a present for her third birthday party.

Recently, police compared the DNA in her rape case against a database of convicted criminals and a match came up as Melvin Lee Jones, a man already serving time for another rape and murder. 

Thursday in court Melvin Lee Jones waived his right to a preliminary hearing-- which will push the case along to trial if he pleas guilty. Preston's mother says it's surreal that the case is finally being solved decades later, and minced no words about how she feels about the man.

Alfredia Huggins says, "He'll be in there for a minute, but they need to let me get my hands on him."

He's expected in court October 27th at 1:30.