After more than 37 years, the man suspected of killing Donna Smith in March of 1976 has been apprehended and charged for the crime. At the time, Ms. Smith was 20 years old. She was found deceased at her residence in the 1000 block of East Mossman on March 19, 1976. It is believed that her body was found several days after the homicide incident actually occurred.
Detectives working for the Tucson Police Department Homicide Unit in 1976 learned that Ms. Smith was living with her boyfriend, who was identified as Bruce McCullough (66-years old currently, 28-years old at the time of the incident). During the course of their investigation, the detectives identified McCullough as the suspect of the homicide.
Unfortunately, they were not able to locate him, as it appeared that he had fled from the Tucson area. Numerous efforts to locate him were unsuccessful, and the case eventually was classified as a “cold case.”
In later years, other detectives reviewed the case, along with other cold cases, again in an effort to ensure that all investigative efforts and resources had been utilized. In both 2003 and 2008, the detectives reviewing this cold case came to conclusions that mirrored those of the original detectives from 1976, namely that McCullough was the suspect who killed Ms. Smith in March of 1976. Unfortunately, in both 2003 and 2008, his whereabouts were still unknown, and no further action could be taken with the case.
Then, in January of 2013, detectives from the current Tucson Police Department Cold Case Unit completed another review of the investigation surrounding the death of Ms. Smith. A break finally came in the case when the detectives were able to develop information regarding the possible location of McCullough in California. On May 1, 2013, two Cold Case Unit detectives traveled to San Diego, California in order to make an attempt to locate McCullough. With the assistance of personnel from the San Diego Police Department, he was located at his residence in the San Diego area on May 2, 2013. It should be noted that McCullough was able to allude law enforcement attempts to locate him for over three decades due to the fact that he assumed a false identity. Only recently did he begin using his own identity again.
Ultimately, McCullough was arrested and charged with 1 count of First Degree Murder, a felony offense, pursuant to a warrant that had been issued for his arrest. He was transported and booked into the San Diego Jail as a Fugitive from Justice and is awaiting extradition to Tucson, Arizona.
Tucson Police Department detectives also located Ms. Smith’s elderly mother, who still resides within Arizona, and personally visited her, delivering the news that her daughter’s killer had been located and brought to justice.