HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Fifteen years after a woman was strangled to death, her accused killer is now behind bars and charged with murder, according to court documents.

Houston police said new evidence linked 54-year-old Earnest Smith to the crime and arrested him on Friday.

The district attorney's office said the victim, 38-year-old Bridget Caldwell, and Smith were in an off-and-on-again dating relationship for five to six years.