When 15-year-old Stacy Knappenberger was killed in 1980, Oxnard investigators were at a loss.

The body of the Hueneme High School student was found in her home. She had been beaten and stabbed multiple times, and authorities suspected she had been sexually assaulted.

But there were no arrests until this week, when, guided by a DNA match, officers in Fairfield, Ala., converged on the home of Thomas Young Jr., 65, a Vietnam veteran described by a next-door neighbor as mild-mannered and religious.

"I am totally taken aback," said Eleanor Rogers, his neighbor in Fairfield. "He always appeared to be so very nice and respectful. We would plant flowers together."

Paul Knappenberger, Stacy's father, said Friday that he didn't know Young and doubted that his daughter had either.

"I believe he stalked her," he said.

Knappenberger, who has been in touch with detectives over the years, said he planned to be at Young's arraignment, which had not been scheduled as of Friday.

"I'm relieved that, after 32 years, this is finally coming to a conclusion," he said.

In a statement thanking Oxnard police and Ventura County prosecutors, the family said it was "hoping to have closure in the death of Stacy, and possibly give hope to others still waiting for justice for their loved ones."

Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams called the arrest "a very rewarding day for law enforcement and a tribute to the good work that was put into this case over the past 32 years."

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DNA match leads to arrest in 1980 Oxnard slaying