The investigation of a murder that went unsolved for more than three decades led this week to the arrest of a Maricopa man.

Anthony Hayes, 65, was arrested by Maricopa officers during a traffic stop Monday on a grand jury warrant out of Mobile, Alabama, according to police. He is charged with one count of intentional murder in the death of a Mobile woman on Jan. 23, 1988.

Hayes was likely not surprised by his arrest in the cold case.

A Mobile police detective traveled to Arizona on March 9 and a day later interviewed a cooperative Hayes at the MPD station, Maricopa police said. He was released at that time pending the grand jury warrant.

On April 30, Mobile police obtained a grand jury indictment for Hayes in the long-dormant case and he was picked up on the warrant by Maricopa officers during the traffic stop.

Hayes is charged with killing Stella McCrary, 69, who was found dead in a Mobile home by her son. Stabbed several times, she may have been the victim of a robbery, al.com reported. Hayes became a suspect after Mobile police began investigating the murder again in March. Authorities haven’t said what led them to the Maricopa resident.

Hayes is being held at the Pinal County jail and has a court hearing scheduled for Friday. Authorities are seeking to extradite him to Alabama to answer the charges against him.

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