Accused suspect in 1975 eastern Ontario ‘Nation River Lady’ murder returning to Canada

The man accused of killing a woman and disposing her body east of Ottawa in 1975 is on route back to Canada, Ontario Provincial Police say.

In a statement, OPP said investigators escorted Rodney Nichols from his home in Hollywood, Fla. to eastern Ontario. The OPP assisted in Florida by the U.S Marshals Service-Office of International Operations.

OPP have charged Nichols with murder in the death of Jewell ‘Lalla’ Langford, referred to as Lalla Jewel Langford in U.S. legal documents.

The remains of a woman were found in the Nation River, a short distance from the Highway 417 bridge near the Town of Casselman on May 3, 1975. She became known as the ‘Nation River Lady’ because her identity could not be known at that time.

Langford was identified in 2020 through advanced DNA testing.

Nichols remains in custody and is scheduled to make a virtual appearance before the Ontario Court of Justice in l’Orignal, Ont. on Dec. 2.

With files from The Canadian Press