IOWA CITY, Iowa — Investigators have arrested a former University of Iowa researcher in connection with the strangulation death of his wife in 1997.

Iowa City police said that 73-year-old John Bloomfield was arrested Tuesday at his home in St. Paul. He’s charged with first-degree murder in the death of 57-year-old Frances Bloomfield, and is in custody awaiting extradition to Iowa to face charge.

John Bloomfield reported that his wife was missing after he returned to their Iowa City home from an international business trip. Hours later, her body was discovered in a ditch near Rockford, Ill., bound with ligatures and wrapped in plastic.