New Suspect in 1991 Hawaii Murder Case Dies by Suicide After DNA Match

Albert Lauro Jr., a new suspect in the 1991 murder of Dana Ireland, committed suicide after police collected a DNA sample linking him to the crime. The case, previously resulting in wrongful convictions, remains under scrutiny.

Hawaii, Bollywood Fever: A man identified as a new possible suspect in the killing and sexual assault of Virginia woman Dana Ireland, who was visiting Hawaii over three decades ago, recently committed suicide after police took a DNA swab from him, attorneys revealed in court filings.

The Hawaii Police Department on Monday confirmed that DNA taken from Dana Ireland’s body matched that of 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr. of Hawaiian Paradise Park on the Big Island. However, they did not disclose his cause of death. Attempts to reach Lauro’s relatives were unsuccessful.

Authorities focused on Lauro in recent months and obtained a DNA sample from him off a discarded fork. Lauro killed himself last week after police went to his home to test the sample against a swab taken from him in person, Innocence Project lawyers stated in court documents filed Sunday.

The DNA discovery represents a significant development in a case that made headlines last year when Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, who had been incarcerated for more than 20 years for the killing, was released based on new evidence. Ireland’s body was found on Christmas Eve in 1991 on Hawaii’s Big Island. Schweitzer was one of three men who spent time behind bars for her killing but always maintained his innocence. A judge is expected to rule Tuesday on a motion to officially exonerate him.

Schweitzer’s attorneys criticized the police on Monday, alleging that they mishandled the investigation into Lauro by not taking steps to ensure he didn’t flee or kill himself after they obtained his DNA. They argued that because of Lauro’s death, the truth about Ireland’s murder may never be fully uncovered. They also called for a federal investigation and demanded access to all communications related to the DNA work.

“We knew that he had a family. He had a good life,” Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck, who is assisting the Hawaii Innocence Project in Schweitzer’s case, said Monday of Lauro. “It’s well known in law enforcement circles… if you have DNA on a guy and you know he committed the crime, that if you do not bring him into custody, there is a serious chance that the person will flee, destroy evidence, or kill themself.”

Hawaii police spokesperson Denise Laitinen declined to provide an immediate comment, but said the department would hold a news conference later Monday.

Mayor Mitch Roth, who was the Big Island’s top prosecutor when Schweitzer’s attorneys and prosecutors entered into a “conviction integrity agreement” to reinvestigate the case, said Monday that he stands behind the police and noted that the results from the swab they collected didn’t come in until after Lauro died.

Police stated in a news release that the DNA evidence gave them probable cause to bring rape charges against Lauro, but the statute of limitations on such charges expired years ago. Murder charges, however, remain within the statute of limitations for Ireland’s death, but police said they didn’t have enough evidence to charge Lauro with murder.

Lauro had not been on law enforcement’s radar when Roth was prosecutor: “I don’t recall ever seeing this person in any of the police reports when I went over the case.”

The push to identify Ireland’s killer gained renewed momentum after the January 2023 release of Schweitzer, who was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 130 years in prison. Innocence Project lawyers argued that Schweitzer didn’t match the DNA on a T-shirt found near Ireland. The shirt, which didn’t belong to Ireland but was soaked with her blood, contained DNA from an unknown man.

Even though Schweitzer was released, his legal team and prosecutors continue to debate whether he is actually innocent and deserves compensation for his years behind bars.

Schweitzer’s Innocence Project attorneys tracked down a DNA match with help from Steven Kramer, a retired FBI attorney and federal prosecutor who led the genetic genealogy team that solved the Golden State Killer case in 2018. Kramer found a match based on genetics, ancestry, age, and address history, among other factors.

Lauro, according to the recent court filing, lived less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from where Ireland’s body was found along a fishing trail in a remote part of the Big Island. He would have been in his mid-20s at the time and owned or had access to a pickup truck that would have left the tire marks found at the scene.

Innocence Project attorneys discovered that Lauro was still an avid fisherman and familiar with the trail where Ireland was found, based on his Facebook page.

On Monday, the attorneys called for a federal investigation into why police didn’t arrest Lauro, even when they had probable cause to do so. In their filing, they asked for police and prosecutors to turn over all communications about the decision not to seek an arrest warrant after the DNA from Lauro’s fork was tested. They also want to know why he wasn’t arrested before or after police took the DNA swab.

A 2023 petition filed in the quest to release Schweitzer, the last of the three Native Hawaiian men who remained imprisoned for the killing, outlined the case, which was one of Hawaii’s most notorious.

Ireland, who was 23 years old and visiting from Virginia, was found barely alive in the bushes along a fishing trail in Puna, a remote section of the island. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten, and later died at Hilo Medical Center. The mangled bicycle she had been riding was found several miles away and appeared to have been run into by a vehicle.

The killing remained unsolved for years.

A man named Frank Pauline Jr., who claimed to have witnessed the attack, told police that Schweitzer and his brother, Shawn Schweitzer, attacked and killed Ireland. However, Pauline was interviewed at least seven times and gave inconsistent accounts each time, eventually incriminating himself and leading prosecutors to indict Pauline and the Schweitzers.

Pauline and Ian Schweitzer were convicted in 2000. Shawn Schweitzer took a deal to plead guilty to manslaughter and kidnapping, receiving credit for about a year served and five years of probation, after seeing juries convict Pauline and his brother in 2000. Pauline died in prison.

The Schweitzer brothers “are happy that this person was finally caught,” said Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project. “They’re disappointed in the way it happened.”

Also Read Other Articles, Israel Prepares for Retaliation Against Hezbollah Following Deadly Rocket Strike

Peru Expels Venezuelan Diplomats Following Contested Election Victory

Venezuela Opposition Challenges Election Results, Proclaims Victory Over Maduro