Detectives solve 1968 killing of World War II veteran who became milkman, Florida sheriff says

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — More than five decades after a World War II veteran was slain while working as a milkman in Florida, investigators say they’ve solved the case thanks to two people who came forward after the killer died.

Hiram “Ross” Grayam was delivering milk in April 1968 and failed to return home after work. Deputies later found his body and his milk truck deep in the woods in the Vero Beach area, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. He had been shot several times.

The case went cold, and no arrests were made during the next 56 years.

“Through determination and the cooperation of witnesses, new leads emerged: Thomas J. Williams, now deceased, had confessed to Grayam’s murder, his guilt echoing from beyond the grave,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Grayam, a decorated World War II veteran who received a Purple Heart, had become “a beloved milkman” after settling in Indian River County after the war, authorities said.