In 1975, three girls were kidnapped and stabbed. Now they know who did it.

The three women — two sisters and a friend — held hands and sat together Thursday as police officers in Indiana shared something the women had waited nearly 50 years to hear: the name of the person who stabbed them and left them in a Indiana. corn field on a late summer evening in 1975.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said news conference that through the use of DNA evidence, investigators were able to determine that Thomas Edward Williams had stabbed 13-year-old Kandice Smith, 11-year-old Sheri Rottler (now Sheri Rottler Trick), and 14-year-old Kathie Rottler August 19, 1975 in Greenfield, Indiana. Mr. Williams died in November 1983 at the age of 49 while in custody in Galveston, Texas, authorities said. It was unclear why he was being held.

Looking somber and sometimes with blank expressions on their faces, the women, now in their 50s and 60s, listened quietly as authorities recounted some of the harrowing details of the violent attack.

Police said the girls hitchhiked after buying items at a gas station east of Indianapolis. A man driving a station wagon offered them a ride, and he drove them to a corn field. There, police said, he forced the girls out of the car, tied two of them up and then stabbed each several times.

“They basically pretended to be dead to avoid being stabbed any more,” said Sgt. David Ellison of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police said.

Two of the girls sought help from a passerby on the main road, and after the police arrived, they found the third girl in the cornfield; all were taken to a hospital, Sergeant Ellison said.

After law enforcement officials recounted the crime and how the victims' persistence, along with police work and DNA evidence, led to the case's resolution, each of the three women spoke.

“I stand before you today as a survivor who has learned the true meaning of patience,” Ms. Rottler said. “I have learned that sometimes it can take decades before the answer you are waiting for is found.”

Ms. Rottler said even after the case went cold, she tried to keep it open.

“It seemed like every call I made was a dead end,” she said. “But I was determined not to give up.”

The women worked with various state and local officials over the years, and in 2018 they contacted Sergeant Ellison, who agreed to investigate their case.

Sergeant Ellison, who recently retired, said he had begun examining DNA recovered from evidence from the crime scene. Using genetic genealogy, investigators were able to identify people with DNA similar to that recovered from the crime scene, Sergeant Ellison said, noting that they were able to track down a daughter of Mr. Williams. She agreed to provide a DNA sample last year, which indicated a match with Mr Williams.

Addressing the three women, Deputy Chief Kendale Adams of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said, “I won't pretend to know what you're feeling today, but I do hope this is the first step in providing the closure that the criminal justice system can provide. .”

At the press conference, Ms Rottler Trick said she had decided to forgive Mr Williams for the attack.

“I'm sorry if this upsets anyone,” she said.

The last of the three women to speak Thursday was Mrs. Smith. She said identifying Mr Williams had brought her “closure” and justice for her family.

“It has brought peace to my heart,” she said.