Police in Niles have announced the arrest of a man in connection with the strangulation death of a woman nearly 29 years ago.

       Richard J. Sisto, 72, is facing a charge of first degree murder in the 1992 death of 35-year-old Helen K. Cardwell at the Leaning Tower YMCA, Niles Deputy Police Chief Nick Zakula said Wednesday.

       Zakula said DNA evidence “was utilized in the case,” but did not confirm that DNA from the crime scene matched Sisto’s.

       Sisto is currently being held in a Texas jail on $1 million bond, though when he could be extradited back to Illinois is currently unknown, Zakula said. Sisto’s last known Illinois address was in Lake in the Hills, police said.

       A warrant for his arrest was initially issued Oct. 15, Zakula said.

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       Niles police released few details on the arrest, but said a press conference to discuss the case will take place Oct. 27 at the Niles Police Station.

       Helen Cardwell was found strangled with her own sweater in her sixth-floor room inside the YMCA residential building, 6300 W. Touhy Ave., on Nov. 7, 1992, the Chicago Tribune reported. She had been sexually assaulted, the article said.

       A relative of Cardwell discovered her body during a weekly visit, police said. At the time, investigators believed Cardwell had been killed the previous night or earlier that morning, and noted that there was no sign of forced entry to her room and nothing appeared to be stolen, according to the Tribune. Police said residents of the building did not report hearing anything unusual.

       Relatives at the time told police that Cardwell had recently moved from Huntington, West Virginia to Niles in search of work and was scheduled to begin a job at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, the Tribune reported.

       Check back for updates as this story develops.

       jjohnson@chicagotribune.com

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