Suspect identified by DNA evidence in Dana Ireland murder commits suicide

Authorities have identified a man they believe responsible for the 1991 rape and murder of Dana Ireland in Puna.

New DNA evidence discovered on a sheet and a Jimmy-Z’s t-shirt found around the original crime scene reportedly belonged to Albert Lauro Jr., 57, of Kapoho. According to court documents, the suspect is “presumed dead by suicide” after Hawai‘i Island police took his DNA sample earlier this month.

“For 33 years, our department has been resolute in investigating the Dana Ireland case,” said Hawai‘i Police Department Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz.

The new evidence, identified in 2017, excluded Albert “Ian” Schweitzer who spent more than two decades in prison after being convicted in 2000 for Ireland’s murder. He was exonerated on Jan. 24, 2023, by Hilo Circuit Court Judge Peter Kubota.

Following Schweitzer’s exoneration Hawai‘i Island police and Hawai‘i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney committed to identifying the DNA and finally bring closure to the Ireland family.

According to court documents, the Jimmy-Z’s t-shirt was found on the Wa‘a Wa‘a fishing trail. At the time, the shirt was soaked in Ireland’s blood and DNA testing was not advanced enough to elicit DNA results of who owned and wore the t-shirt at the time of the Virginia woman’s murder.

According to court documents filed Sunday, the suspect lived less than two miles from where 23-year-old Ireland was found on Christmas Eve, clinging to life, on the Wa‘a Wa‘a fishing trail. She was transported to Hilo Medical Center where she died from blood loss.

DNA was recovered from a swab taken from Ireland’s body, from the sheet used to transport her to the hospital, and from the t-shirt. While it was analyzed at the time, there was no match in any DNA database, and the person whose DNA was found at the scene became known as “Unknown Male #1.”
 
In 2008, the DNA evidence was sent to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California, where it remains today, as part of a cooperative agreement with the Innocence Project. 

In the decades since Ireland was murdered, DNA technology has evolved significantly, police officials stated in a press release this afternoon.

 Additional DNA evidence was collected from the t-shirt and found to match the other samples from the scene. In addition, experts are now able to take data from a DNA sample and build a family tree based on the known DNA from relatives.

Earlier this year, an FBI agent from the Honolulu Field Office contacted police investigators with the names of some people who could potentially be identified as “Unknown Male #1.” 

One of the names provided was Lauro, who lived in the Kapoho area at the time of the murder. Based on that information, police investigators surveilled Lauro attempting to gather further evidence. 

In early July, officers collected a utensil that Lauro used after he discarded it. The DNA from the utensil was analyzed and found to be a match to “Unknown Male #1.”
 
While the DNA at the scene and from the victim established probable cause that “Unknown Male #1” had committed the offense of rape, police say the statute of limitations for that charge ran out several years prior. The only remaining crime still within the statute of limitations was murder.

Based on what the investigators knew at the time, there was not enough information to establish probable cause to arrest Lauro for murder. 

Investigators obtained a court order to obtain a buccal swab from Lauro’s cheek as confirmation that the DNA taken directly from him matched the DNA collected at the crime scene 33 years earlier. On July 19, Lauro was asked to come to the station and talk with investigators. The encounter was consensual, and he was not in police custody at the time. 

After speaking with investigators, Lauro asked to leave and was allowed to do so after the court-ordered buccal swab was collected. The buccal swab was sent to Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California along with a request to rush the analysis and return the results as soon as possible. 

Based on that analysis, the Hawai‘i Police Department can now confirm that the DNA collected at the crime scene matched Lauro a resident of Hawaiian Paradise Park. 

“The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from unwarranted search and seizure,” explained Moszkowicz. “In order to obtain a search warrant, investigators would have to have established probable cause for the crime of murder and explained specifically what evidence it was seeking.”

According to court records, Lauro was cited a handful of times for traffic infractions starting in 2000. In 2020, he was the petitioner in a domestic abuse case.

Facebook social media accounts of the suspect, believed to be Unknown Male #1, suggested that he was an avid shore fisherman and likely familiar with the fishing trail in Wa‘a Wa‘a where Ireland’s body was found.

“We remain focused on Dana Ireland, a young woman who was brutally murdered. There is still a lot about this case that we do not know and our investigation into this case continues to push forward. Our search for the truth is not over,” said Moszkowicz.
 
People with information relative to this investigation should contact Hawai‘i Police Department Area I Criminal Investigation Division Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins at 808-961-2251 or via email at Rio.Amon-Wilkins@hawaiicounty.gov.