EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A murder charge has been upheld for a Washington state man who killed himself before the jury had reached its verdict.

Superior Court Judge David Kurtz on Thursday upheld a jury’s guilty verdict from last month for 78-year-old Terrence Miller, who had killed 20-year-old Jody Loomis in 1972. Miller was not arrested for the murder until 2019 after new DNA evidence was found and corroborated.

In November, while the jury deliberated, Miller killed himself. An autopsy report said he had shot himself.

The jury reached a guilty verdict a few hours after being told of his death.