NICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say DNA evidence has helped close a 37-year-old murder case in the Florida Panhandle.

Catherine Ainsworth's body was found in her Niceville apartment on Aug. 30, 1975. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

Authorities say they've linked the crime scene to William P. Rouse, a New York man who had been based at Eglin Air Force Base at the time.

Rouse died in 2006. Authorities tell the Northwest Florida Daily News (http://bit.ly/N9gUoN ) that Rouse's relatives provided two hats he frequently wore for DNA testing.

Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Investigator Travis Robinson says DNA from the hats matched DNA evidence found on a rug under Ainsworth's body.

Rouse had been Ainsworth's neighbor. Robinson said Rouse had given conflicting stories to the case's original investigators.

Information from: Northwest Florida Daily News, http://www.nwfdailynews.com

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DNA helps close old murder case in Fla Panhandle