In day and a time when crime witnesses often want to stay out of the fray, one man just took it upon himself to help Birmingham police solve a cold case homicide.

The witness, who is not being publicly identified, reached out to veteran Birmingham homicide Det. Jonathan Ross to let him know he knew who killed 57-year-old Vergil Angela Cook seven years ago.

The witness, Ross said, couldn’t keep the information to himself.

“It makes me feel good when they come forward,’’ Ross said, “because I know they’re more credible.”

Police officials on Thursday announced the arrest of 62-year-old Timoth Stone on a murder warrant.

Stone was identified as a person of interest in Cook’s 2017 – the two were a couple – but police did not have enough evidence at the time to charge him.

Cook’s body was found about 11 p.m. Friday, July 21, 2017, in the 1300 block of 21st Street North in Birmingham’s Druid Hills neighborhood.

Police said she had been stabbed, and it appeared that’s been dead for several days.

Family members made the discovery after not being able to reach Cook.

One of Cook’s children, Don Johnson, previously told AL.com that Cook loved to decorate, blog and read books. She loved her dog and her grandchildren.

“She was very outgoing, very humble, very down-to-earth,” Johnson said in 2017. “Whether you’re white, black; no matter your religion or political views, she was just a welcoming person.”

Just two years before her slaying, Cook’s brother, Otis Tyrone Cook, had been murdered in front of her.  He was 62 at the time, and police say he was shot by his neighbor during a dispute over his niece playing in that neighbor’s yard.

Ross said he was thankful to be able to notify Cooks family, especially her mother.

“She was screaming and shouting and thanking me for what we’d done,’’ Ross said. “They were excited.”

Stone was arrested on the murder warrant earlier this week and remains in the Jefferson County Jail.