After nearly 40 years, partial human remains uncovered in a garbage bag in 1982 in Twinsburg, Ohio, have been identified as Frank "Frankie" Little Jr., a songwriter and guitarist for The O'Jays, Fox 13 Memphis reports.

"Thanks to the genealogical research of the DNA Doe Project, unidentified remains discovered on February 18, 1982, have been identified as Frank 'Frankie' Little Jr., born in 1943, from Cleveland, Ohio, " the Twinsburg Police Department stated in a press release.

The press release revealed that Little's living relatives assisted in identifying his remains. A close family member supplied a DNA sample that was examined by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Crime Lab. Dr. Lisa Kohler of the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office also verified his identity and certified his death was a homicide.

"It's amazing. We're glad that we have closure now. We know he's deceased," Little's cousin Margaret O'Sullivan, who lives in Cleveland, said, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.

"It's definitely nice that we can give some answers to the family and hopefully they have some sense of closure. He had a life, and ultimately he ended up here in Twinsburg, with his life taken by another," said Twinsburg Detective Eric Hendershott, ABC affiliate WEWS reports.

Little played with The O'Jays in the 1960s as their guitarist and was recorded as alive during the mid-1970s, based on the Twinsburg Police Department's press release.

In 1982, Little's fragmented remains were discovered by employees behind their business, which is now closed down. At the time, it was concluded that the remains were two to four years old, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Due to a lack of substantial leads, investigators considered the investigation a cold case, but in 2009, Sgt. Greg Feketik reopened the case after deciding to use DNA to determine Little's identity.

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