SLIDELL - More than six years after a man was found dead alongside a Louisiana highway with most of his limbs cut off, deputies say a missing foot found at a Mississippi home has helped them solve the cold case.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said the remains were first found back in July 2016 near the intersection of US 90 and LA 433 in Slidell. The man, believed to be around 65 years old at the time of his death, was badly decomposed and missing his arms and one of his legs.

An autopsy revealed that he died from an apparent blow to the head, but the state of the body made it impossible to identify the man for years. 

On Friday however, the sheriff's office said evidence found during a death investigation in another state led to the first break they've had in the case in years. In April 2019, Biloxi Police found a dismembered foot sitting in a bucket while checking the home of Phillip Pointer, who had recently died. 

A sample taken from the foot matched DNA that was on record for the body discovered in Slidell years earlier. Both departments eventually linked up and developed an ID for the victim with help from the LSU FACES Lab in Baton Rouge. 

That victim was finally identified as Kleanthis Konstantinidis, and a family member also helped confirm the identity. Additionally, authorities now say Pointer — who had Konstantinidis' missing foot in his home at the time of his death — is the primary suspect in the killing. 

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said it's still working with Mississippi law enforcement to determine where the killing happened and other circumstances surrounding the case.