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A suspect in one of Hawaii’s most notorious murder cases has killed himself just days after police questioned him and took his DNA sample as part of the investigation.
Dana Ireland, a 23-year-old tourist from Virginia, was kidnapped, raped and left for dead in the Kapoho area of Hawaii on Christmas Eve 1991. She died the following day in hospital.
For over 20 years, investigators believed the case was closed and that her killers had been brought to justice.
Albert Ian Schweitzer had been convicted of her murder in 2000 and sentenced to 130 years in prison. Two other men – Frank Pauline Jr and Schweitzer’s brother Shawn – were also convicted. Pauline was killed by a fellow inmate in prison in 2015 while Shawn took a plea deal and was released from prison after one year.
Then, in 2023 – with Schweizer the lone suspect still behind bars – new DNA evidence proved his innocence and he was exonerated.
Now, one year on, the Hawaii Police Department announced investigators had identified a new potential suspect thanks to DNA from a bed sheet.
Back in 1991, DNA was taken from a swab of Ireland’s body, from a sheet used to transport Ireland to hospital, and a t-shirt found at the crime scene.
When these items were analyzed in 1991, there was no match in any DNA database, and the DNA was stored and labeled as “Unknown Male #1.”
As decades passed and technology advanced, investigators were able to narrow down the DNA to some potential suspects.
One of the names on the list was 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr, who lived in the Kapoho area at the time of Ireland’s murder.
In early July, police collected a utensil Lauro threw away, analyzed it and found it matched “Unknown Male #1.”
While the statute of limitations had expired for rape, it had not for murder.
Yet, police did not arrest Lauro, saying in a press conference on Monday that there was not enough probable cause.
And so police contacted Lauro on July 19 and took a buccal swab from him, before letting him go.
Days later, Lauro was found dead by suicide.
Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz said at a press conference on Monday that the buccal swab ultimately confirmed that the DNA collected at the scene of Ireland’s murder matched Lauro.
“We felt then and continue to feel that the presence of Lauro’s DNA at the crime scene was in and of itself not sufficient evidence to prove that Lauro intentionally or knowingly caused her death,” Moszkowicz said on Monday.
Moszkowicz defended police’s decision not to arrest Lauro on July 19, saying that his arrest could be challenged as inadmissible if they did not have probable cause.
However, attorneys of the Hawaii Innocence Project – which helped exonerate Schweitzer – have called for a federal investigation into why police didn’t arrest Lauro, The Associated Press reported.
Chief Moszkowicz said that while this is a considerable development, the cold case is not yet closed with investigators now looking to access Lauro’s cellphone and speak to his family and friends from 1991.
“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,” Moszkowicz said.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
