A suspect has been identified in a 1994 murder case in which a 73-year-old Studio City man was slain by a burglar, Los Angeles police said Wednesday night.

Rupert Thompson was sleeping in his bedroom with his wife when they heard breaking glass shortly before 1 a.m. on Jan. 26, 1994.

The intruder beat Thompson severely and shot him and his wife, who was hit in the chest. She later told reporters that the gunman thought she was dead.

Kevin Bernard Smith, an inmate serving time for a narcotics conviction in a Mississippi prison, has been tied to the killing with DNA evidence, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Smith has been returned to California and is being held at the state prison in Chino, the LAPD said.

The case had been cold until about a year ago, when Det. Steve Castro began poring over documents and evidence. As part of his probe, he had physical evidence reexamined using DNA technology, the LAPD said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Castro at (818) 623-4075.