Nation River Lady: Former Montrealer named as suspect in Ontario cold case

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A former Montreal resident has been named as the suspect in an Ontario homicide case that had gone unsolved for decades because police were unable to identify the victim — previously only known as the Nation River Lady — until relatively recent developments in DNA analysis.

“We now have the opportunity to announce a resolution to one of the longest-ever previously unsolved/unidentified remains investigations. We have finally identified the Nation River Lady and have criminally charged an individual with her death,” Det.-Insp. Daniel Nadeau of the Ontario Provincial Police said in a video released on Wednesday.

The OPP actually learned in 2020 that the victim — whose body was found in the Nation River in Casselman, Ont., just east of Ottawa, on May 3, 1975 — was 48-year-old Jewell Parchman Langford, a successful businesswoman from Tennessee. She was visiting Canada when she was strangled and her body was tossed off a bridge on Highway 417.

Rodney Nichols, a former Montrealer who knew Langford, has been identified as a suspect. Nichols resides in Florida and is the subject of an extradition request to have him returned to Canada to face a murder charge.

Quebec court records indicate that Nichols lived in Côte-des-Neiges during the 1970s.

Nadeau said Langford and Nichols knew each other in 1975. He also said the cold case is believed to be the first in Ontario to be solved through forensic genealogy.

The OPP detective said several efforts were made in the past to identify Langford’s body, including media campaigns and tip lines, but none worked. Her remains were buried, but in 2019 a decision was made to exhume the body to get a new DNA profile.

“Unfortunately, she was buried as an unidentified person,” Dirk Huyer, the chief coroner for Ontario, said in the same video.

One effort involved a very unique dental appliance found on the body. Huyer said a photograph of the appliance was sent to dentists to see if any recognized it, but no one did.

“As DNA science progressed, there were a number of DNA comparisons that were made over years, but again those were unsuccessful. But with the progressing and evolving DNA science, we did make a decision to obtain a new DNA profile based on the new technology and the new science that was available,” Huyer said.

“That sample was shared with a U.S. organization that works together with law enforcement to do evaluations through a genetic genealogy approach. That sample was linked with others through a genealogy and family tree analysis, and that analysis raised a good potential that the remains were Miss Langford.”

The confirmation was made when the DNA from the remains was compared with those of Langford’s nieces.

Janice Mulcock, a retired OPP detective, said Langford was the co-owner of a successful health spa in Tennessee when she disappeared.

“In this respect, she truly was a woman ahead of her time. In fact, so successful she was the chair and president of the Jackson, Tenn., chapter of the American Businesswomen’s Association and in 1971 was voted Woman of the Year by her colleagues. She was a leader, a mentor, and her enthusiasm was inspirational.”

Tuesday night, the George A. Smith and Sons Funeral Home in the U.S. posted a message on Facebook revealing Langford’s remains had been identified years ago and that a memorial service was held last year.

“In 2021, we were contacted by Denise Parchman Chung about assisting her in laying to rest the remains of her aunt, Jewell Parchman Langford. Her aunt had been missing since 1975 and had recently been identified by Canadian authorities using modern DNA science,” the funeral home wrote. “On May 27, 2022, we gathered with Canadian officials, FBI officials and a small amount of dedicated family and laid Jewell to rest in a private, intimate service at the stone that has marked her place on Earth all these years at Highland Memorial Gardens.

“Her marker at Highland Memorial Gardens has been updated from the ‘missing’ marker placed by Jewell’s parents. Her new marker reads, ‘Finally Home and at Peace.'”

When Langford’s body was discovered, her wrists were tied with a man’s necktie, while two other neckties bound her ankles. One of the neckties, known as a “Canada” tie for its decorative Canada flags, was manufactured in Montreal and sold in stores in Quebec, eastern Ontario and Toronto.

pcherry@postmedia.com