Miami-Dade Police have arrested a 75-year-old man for his alleged connection to the 1977 murder of a Coral Gables nurse.
Allen Bregman was arrested and taken into custody on Aug. 4 in Macon County, North Carolina and handed over to Miami-Dade County authorities Friday. Bregman faces charges for the murder of 23-year-old Debra Clark, who was an I.C.U. nurse at Coral Gables Hospital.
According to the police report, on Aug. 6, 1977, officers were dispatched to check on the welfare of Clark. Upon arriving to Clark's apartment, located on the 4700 block of Southwest 67th Avenue, police say they discovered Clark's body suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the chest and a blunt force trauma to her head. Clark was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bregman became a possible suspect in the murder when it was learned that he was involved in a romantic affair with Clark and filed an insurance claim under her name, police said.
Earlier this year, detectives took DNA and fingerprint samples from Bregman. The fingerprints matched those found on an ashtray near Clark’s bed, which is believed to have been used in the murder.
Authorities say the DNA was also found to be consistent with evidence.
"That doesn't concern us at all because Mr. Bregman was the owner of the apartment which the young woman lived and he visited frequently. He had a relationship with this young woman at the time and the presence of his hair in his apartment does not come as a surprise to us whatsoever," Bregman's attorney, Barry Wax, said. "I'm confident that when we go through the discovery process and develop a defense for him that he will be exonerated of these charges."
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Bregman is being extradited to Miami-Dade to face a murder charge. He's expected to go before a South Florida judge on Monday.
