Michelle Sprang and dead woman knew each other.

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A woman arrested in Houston early this month, is being held at the Pima County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the slaying of an acquaintance who was found dead at a Midtown motel a year and a half ago.

Tucson police cold-case investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Michelle Denise Sprang, 41, after picking up the case in October, said Capt. Bill Richards.

They used forensic evidence to link her to the October 2006 slaying of Addie Mae Lee, Richards said. Richards declined to say what that forensic evidence was.

Lee, 49, was found dead at the Oasis Motel, 1701 N. Oracle Road, on a Sunday morning after a maid went into a room and found blood.

Investigators have not released a cause of death, except to say the Lee had obvious signs of trauma.

Richards declined to release much detail about the slaying and the circumstances surrounding it because it's still a sensitive investigation, he said.

"It's not necessarily a smoking-gun case," he said. "It's a good investigative case."

Sprang was initially interviewed as a witness, but police got conflicting accounts of what happened in the hours leading up to Lee's death and the case went cold, Richards said.

When cold-case detectives began investigating, they were able to identify her as a suspect.

No motive for the slaying has been released, and Richards wouldn't say anything about the women's relationship except to say they were acquaintances. He also declined to say why the two were in the motel room together.

Richards didn't know if a weapon had been recovered in connection with the homicide.

Sprang was located in Houston and arrested on April 7, Richards said.

She was extradited to Arizona on Monday and is being held on $1 million bond, according to jail and court records.