TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) —A suspect who was on the run for nearly 40 years has been arrested in connection with the 1984 murder of a Hillsborough County woman, authorities confirmed.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Donald Michael Santini was arrested in San Diego, California on Thursday for the murder of Cynthia Ruth Wood back in 1984.

Donald Michael Santini. (Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

Wood’s body was found in a ditch in Riverview on June 9, 1984. An autopsy revealed Wood had been strangled to death.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said detectives with the agency are heading to California to interview Santini, and that he awaits extraction to Tampa.

No other information has been released.

Cynthia Ruth Wood. (Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

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