A recent development in a decades-old case has brought new attention to the killing and sexual assault of a Virginia woman, Dana Ireland, who was visiting Hawaii in 1991. The Hawaii Police Department identified a new possible suspect, 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr., through DNA evidence. Lauro, a resident of Hawaiian Paradise Park on the Big Island, took his own life after police obtained a DNA sample from him.
Authorities collected DNA from Lauro by observing him eat lunch and retrieving a discarded fork. Despite the DNA match to Ireland's body, the statute of limitations prevented rape charges against Lauro. While murder charges remain within the statute of limitations, police lacked sufficient evidence to charge him with Ireland's death.
