DENVER (KDVR) — A man arrested two years ago in connection to a 2015 murder pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge last week, the Denver District Attorney’s Office said in a release Thursday.

Nicholas Lujan, 29, was arrested in 2021 by the Denver cold case team after years of investigation into the murder of 61-year-old Jose Frias-Olivas.

“This was a horrific murder and I am very proud of our Cold Case Unit and that of the Denver Police Department for working long and hard to get justice for Mr. Frias-Olivas,” Denver DA Beth McCann said.

Frias-Olivas was shot and killed in Harvard Gulch Park West on Aug. 15, 2015. He was visiting his daughter in southwest Denver when he left her home mid-morning to take a walk and was shot in broad daylight.

DA’s Office: Police match DNA to Lujan

The DA’s release said Lujan’s DNA matched what was found on the murder weapon’s magazine. Other DNA was found but Lujan was considered a possible suspect in September 2016.

The release said witnesses weren’t forthcoming and an in-depth investigation into the incident continued for years. Digital evidence was part of the extensive investigation, leading to Lujan’s arrest.

Lujan is scheduled for sentencing on June 9.