MANHATTAN (PIX11) — A 64-year-old man was indicted Thursday on murder charges in the 1994 deaths of a mother and her daughter, Manhattan prosecutors said. 

Larry Atkinson allegedly killed 57-year-old Sarah Roberts, who suffered from emphysema, and her 26-year-old daughter Sharon, who was disabled, on Feb. 20, 1994, officials said. He was arrested in January based on DNA evidence. 

“As science advances, so does our ability to solve cold cases,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “Here, new technology led to an indictment alleging the horrific murders of a mother and daughter dating back nearly 30 years.”

A home attendant, who was dating Atkinson at the time, found the women inside the bedroom of a West 125th Street apartment in the Grant Houses, officials said. The door was unlocked when the attendant arrived. There were no signs of forced entry.

Sharon Roberts was found with the tube from her mother’s oxygen tank and a pair of leggings tied around her neck, prosecutors said. She and her mother both died from ligature strangulation, the Office of the Medical Examiner determines. 

New DNA testing was done in 2022. Police tied Atkinson to the deaths based on DNA evidence found on Sarah Roberts’ fingernail, according to the criminal complaint. A test was also done on a dried secretion swab from Sharon Roberts’ right hand.

Atkinson is an ex-convict with 13 prior arrests. He was convicted five times and served time under different aliases, according to state records. Atkinson was ordered held without bail after his arrest.