Cold case killer caught 35 years after woman's death thanks to DNA comparison – WSOC TV

CHARLOTTE – More than 30 years after a mother of two was tragically killed in a hit-and-run crash in Uptown Charlotte, her killer has been arrested, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Ruth Buchanan was shopping in Uptown Charlotte four days after Christmas 1989 when she was struck and killed in a crosswalk. The driver never stopped.

The case remained unsolved for decades. Almost 35 years later, her murderer was caught and confessed to the crime.

December 29, 1989

Buchanan loved her children, her husband, and square dancing, and she enjoyed giving back to her community.

On December 29, 1989, the Forest City woman went to Uptown Charlotte, then called Downtown, with a friend to take advantage of the post-Christmas sales. Police said she was planning an upcoming trip to Florida to ring in the New Year.

“Ruth and her friend were walking along the sidewalk there,” said CMPD Sergeant Gavin Jackson, pointing to the exact spot.

Jackson works with CMPD's Major Accident Investigation Unit. He said the shopping spree came to a tragic end at the intersection of Fifth and North Tryon Streets.

“As they were crossing Fifth Avenue, witnesses reported that a driver ran a red light and struck Mrs. Buchanan, who was in the crosswalk,” Jackson said.

According to reports from the Charlotte Observer at the time, Buchanan was “thrown about 10 feet in the air…” and “left for dead on busy North Tryon Street, mauled by a driver who ran a red light at 45 mph and failed to stop.”

The 52-year-old mother died in hospital the next day.

Investigators soon tracked down the suspect's car, which was parked outside a Charlotte hotel. Investigators found Buchanan's hair fibers and skin fragments in the shattered windshield, front bumper and hood.

“The license plate number on the vehicle matched the license plate number observed fleeing the scene,” Jackson said.

It turned out that the car was stolen.

Solve the case

Days turned into weeks. Local newspapers kept the case alive, as did the local police, who continued to work on the case. But there were no updates for years. That is, until 2022.

“I received the tip from Crime Stoppers and it contained information related to this case,” Jackson said.

The tip wasn't credible, but Channel 9's Hunter Sáenz learned that it opened investigators' eyes to the case.

“That was because our electronic reporting system does not go back three and a half decades,” Jackson said.

Sergeant Jackson had a detective reopen the file and a fresh and unbiased pair of eyes took a look at the evidence. What the detective found ultimately solved the case.

In 1989, investigators found a cigarette butt in a canister in the damaged car. The detective who was taking a closer look at the case saw the butt in the evidence room and knew that it could be crucial for the new DNA technology.

“It was Item 19. They did a DNA analysis of the cigarette/possible marijuana joint and within a couple of months they gave us a hit based on that DNA,” Jackson said.

It led them to Herbert Stanback, a career criminal who was in prison for another crime. Sergeant Jackson and his detective interviewed Stanback twice.

The first time, Stanback asked for time to think about anything, Sergeant Jackson said, but the second visit to question him resulted in charges.

“One thing led to another and he was able to give us a 26-minute confession,” Jackson said.

“I confessed that to you!” said Sáenz.

“Yes, yes,” said Jackson. “[We] recorded it, [he] waived his rights and confessed.”

During that confession, Jackson said Stanback explained that he was too scared to stop after hitting Buchanan on that fateful day in 1989.

“He told us that a few days after Ruth's death, he read about her death in the newspaper and at that point he had the feeling that the police were imminent,” Jackson said.

“He always knew that one day it would catch up with him.”

For 35 years, the police, the community and the family puzzled over who did it. But now there is finally closure in sight: an unsolved murderer has been caught.

“For us, this is certainly a once-in-a-career thing,” Jackson said.

Herbert Stanback, now 68, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for the death of Ruth Buchanan. According to Department of Corrections records, he was already serving a six-year sentence for a habitual offender. The two sentences will be served concurrently.

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