A 70-year-old Dana Point man was charged with murder on Thursday, suspected of bludgeoning his mother to death in her Corona del Mar home 23 years ago, in a cold case cracked with “old school” detective work and the relentlessness of local police, officials said.

On March 5, 1994, Frances Marjorie Van Uden, a 76-year-old mother of three, was found dead in her living room – the back of her skull shattered with a blunt object. Neighbors had called police to check in on her because they hadn’t seen the widow for two days.

76-year old Frances Marjorie Van Uden was murdered in her home on March 3, 1994. Her son John Henry Van Uden III was taken into custody and charged with murdering his mother. (Photo Courtesy of NBPD)

76-year old Frances Marjorie Van Uden was murdered in her home on March 3, 1994. (Photo Courtesy of NBPD)

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A 20-year old DMV photo of John Henry Van Uden III. (Photo Courtesy of NBPD)

As Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis waits in the background, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announces an arrest in a 23-year-old cold case murder during a press conference at his office in Santa Ana on Thursday. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis tells the story of an arrest earlier today in Dana Point as Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas listens in the back during an announcement of an arrest in a 23-year-old cold murder case during a press conference at the DAs office in Santa Ana. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)



During a press conference at the DAs office in Santa Ana on Thursday, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis, left, and Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas answer few questions during their announcement. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The home of 76-year old Frances Marjorie Van Uden where she was murdered on March 3, 1994. (Photo Courtesy of NBPD)

76-year old Frances Marjorie Van Uden was found murdered in her living room, pictured, on March 5, 1994. Her son John Henry Van Uden III was taken into custody and charged with the murder. (Photo Courtesy of NBPD)

Her oldest son, John Henry Van Uden III, was suspected early on of killing her for financial gain, authorities said.

With little evidence, though, the case went cold.

“For 23 years after murdering his mother, Van Uden walked free and enjoyed living on a boat in Newport Beach,” Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said in a Thursday news conference. “Law enforcement didn’t forget this case. He might have thought he got away with it, but he did not.”

Over the next two decades, police conducted interviews, followed leads and collected evidence.

The case got a boost last year when the Newport Beach City Council approved the funds to hire two part-time cold case homicide investigators.

Van Uden was arrested without incident early Thursday as he walked off of his boat. He is charged with first-degree murder with a special circumstance of murder for financial gain.

He was in jail without bail awaiting his first court appearance on Monday.

Authorities declined to discuss case details, such as the evidence against him. He faces a sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.

“Last week would have marked Marjorie’s 100 birthday,” Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said. “We here at the Newport Beach Police Department … have never forgotten what happened in March 1994.”