Vancouver man charged with murder in 1996 Ottawa cold case killing [Video]

A Vancouver man has been charged with second-degree murder in a decades-old Ottawa cold case police say they cracked using cutting-edge DNA technology.

Lawrence Diehl, 73, is accused of fatally stabbing 22-year-old Christopher Smith on the Portage Bridge connecting Ottawa and Gatineau in 1996.

No one answered the door at Diehl’s Kerrisdale home on Monday.

Neighbours in the community said Diehl and his wife had lived for more than two decades in the home, recently assessed at $3.25 million.

Vancouver police, in collaboration with Ottawa police, arrested the former meteorologist and BC Soccer Hall of Fame inductee at the property on Dec. 10.

“That’s shocking. This is a very nice, quiet neighbourhood, you never expect anything like this,” neighbour Eric Gold told Global News.

“I wouldn’t consider him the most friendly neighbour to say the least but … I don’t know about the deep secrets that he has in his closet.”

Ottawa police said …