SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — Nearly 50 years ago, a young teacher was found stabbed to death inside a California high school on the first day of summer break. On Monday, cold case investigators identified her killer publicly for the first time.

Diane Peterson, a teacher at Branham High School in San Jose, was stabbed to death by 16-year-old Harry "Nicky" Nickerson on June 16, 1978, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said.

She was killed one day after the 1977-1978 school year ended, while teachers were cleaning their classrooms for summer. A student found Peterson lying on the floor near her classroom with a stab wound in her chest.

Investigators cracked the cold case after meeting with Nickerson's family member this year, according to the DA's office. Minutes after the kill

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