SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A well-established commercial photographer has been jailed on a fugitive warrant from Anaheim, Calif., in the throat-slashing death of his estranged wife in 1983.

William G. Mordick, 61, owner of Photography by Gregory, was being held without bail Tuesday pending transport to California. His business is known largely for family portraits and wedding pictures. Neighbors said he had two adult daughters.

"I know he takes a lot of family photos," police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said. "In fact, I know people here in the agency who had their family photos taken by him."

According to court filings, Mordick was arrested last Wednesday after Anaheim police Detective Robert Blazek went to Spokane to resume an investigation the killing of Katherine Mordick, who was found dead Jan. 22, 1983, in her home. Her throat had been slashed.

Mordick had been separated from his wife for about three months and was not living in the home, Spokane police Detective Mark Burbridge wrote in his report.

Recent DNA testing has matched blood from the scene with a sample provided by Mordick, according to the report.

"Mr. Mordick has waived extradition, so we just need to arrange transport later this week," Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez said.

Blazek wrote in the court filings that in 2001 Mordick provided investigators with several of personal journals that included his "anxiety that a marital dissolution will lead to him losing his kids."

In a journal entry on Sept. 13, 1982, Mordick wrote: "The thought of us not making things work and be separated from my little ones just drives me crazy."

Blazek wrote that investigators didn't know whether Mordick turned over all the journals he wrote from that time.

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com



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AP-NY-02-12-08 0955EST