Arkansas ? A Montana inmate was charged with murder after DNA evidence linked him to the slaying of a woman at an Arkansas rest stop nearly six years ago, authorities said.

Ronald James Ward, who is currently serving a life sentence for murder, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in the death of Kristin Laurite, 25, of Scotch Plains, N.J.

“There can never be closure; however, the arrest of this suspected serial killer does bring me and my family some sense of resolution and peace of mind,” Laurite’s mother, Lynn DiBenedetto, said in a statement Friday.

Laurite’s nude body was found Aug. 25, 2000, at a rest stop east of Morrilton where a trucker had been slain 3 1/2 years earlier. The rest area has since been closed.

Investigators say Laurite was driving to California when she pulled in to the rest stop. Her body was found the next day.