On Friday, the parents of the slain NMSU graduate, Katie Sepich, joined the Dona Ana Sheriff and District Attorney to announce a break in the murder case.

Dave Sepich, Katie's father, said his biggest fear was that someone else would have to die at the hands of Katie's murderer. But now he can put that fear at ease.

"It was like, were we dreaming that this was actually happening. Because we had become pretty resolved with the fact that we may never know," said Sepich.

For three years they've known the details of their daughter's murder, how she died, how she was only a few steps away from getting home before she was raped and many more. One question surrounding the case was if she knew her killer.

"He saw Katie walking home and followed her and murdered her. It was totally random she didn't know him and he didn't know her," said Sepich.

Now, they have a name to the person who has changed their lives forever.

"We're especially grateful because Christmas has been a sad time for us since Katie died," said Sepich.

This Christmas will be different. Katie would have been 26-years-old on Tuesday. Her parents are grateful that investigators never gave up.

"She was never forgotten....she was never.....no one ever gave up," said Jayann, Katie's mother.

Jayann said there's no such thing as closure, but she's ready to move on.

"We've been healing we've been going forward with our lives. We have two other incredible children we love so much. But this will allow us to heal in a way we couldn't have otherwise," said Jayann.