SEATTLE -- A man was charged with murder Tuesday in the 1984 slaying of a 70-year-old woman in Seattle, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Charging documents said Daryl S. Hart fatally stabbed and strangled Nora T. Gracey in August, 1984.

Hart and his mother were Gracey's neighbors.

Gracey was found dead in her bedroom that appeared to have been ransacked, police said. Police documents said a swab of sperm found on the victim's thigh was taken by crime scene investigators.

Court documents said Hart, his mother and the victim's son were interviewed in connection with the case, but there was no evidence at that time to link Hart to the slaying.

Police said the case remained unsolved until 2002 when Seattle Police cold case detectives submitted the DNA swab taken from Gracey's thigh to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab.

A full male DNA profile was obtained and entered into the DNA database with no results, police said.

In 2007, Seattle Police Cold Case Detective Mike Ciesynski reopened the investigation into Gracey's homicide, contacted Hart and the victim's son, and obtained swabs from both men, police said.

The DNA swabs were entered into the database, and on August 10, 2009, the crime lab matched the sperm from Gracey's thigh to Daryl Hart, charging documents said.

Police said Hart was brought in for questionng on August 21 and was confronted with the DNA evidence. Documents said Hart initially denied involvement in the slaying but then confessed to killing Gracey. Hart was arrested.

Court documents said Hart told police he argued with Gracey then stabbed her. Documents said Hart then opened drawers and jewelry boxes in Gracey's bedroom to make the scene look like a burglary.

Prosecutors have asked for Hart's bail to be set at $1 million.

Hart was 24-years-old at the time of Gracey's slaying.