The murder of Dana Ireland
Hawaii County, Hawaii · 1991
Overview
Dana Ireland, a 23-year-old woman visiting the Big Island of Hawaii from Virginia, was struck while riding a bicycle on a remote road in the Puna district on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1991, then kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and beaten and left along a fishing trail in the Waawaa area, where she was found gravely injured; she died early on Christmas Day at Hilo Medical Center. Three men, Frank Pauline Jr. and brothers Ian and Shawn Schweitzer, were prosecuted and convicted in 1999 and 2000 on the strength of disputed jailhouse and informant testimony, even though DNA evidence had excluded all three; all three convictions were later overturned, with Ian Schweitzer freed in January 2023 after roughly 23 years in prison and Shawn Schweitzer exonerated in October 2023. In 2024, investigative genetic genealogy identified Albert Lauro Jr., a Big Island man who had lived within about two miles of the crime scene, as the source of the unknown male DNA recovered from Ireland and the scene. Confronted by investigators in July 2024, Lauro died by suicide days later, before any arrest.
How it was solved
DNA recovered from Dana Ireland and the crime scene, including semen from her body and clothing and genetic material on a bloodied t-shirt left at the scene, was found to belong to a single unidentified man designated Unknown Male No. 1, whose profile produced no match in the FBI CODIS database and excluded the three men who had been convicted. After Ian Schweitzer's conviction was vacated in January 2023, attorneys working with the Hawaii Innocence Project enlisted Steven Kramer, a retired FBI attorney and federal prosecutor who had led the genetic-genealogy team that identified the Golden State Killer, and the firm Indago Solutions. Using forensic genetic genealogy, investigators built family trees from the crime-scene DNA and traced lineages back generations to narrow the field, and in February 2024 they identified Albert Lauro Jr. as a potential source. Hawaii County police and an FBI agent placed Lauro under surveillance and in early July 2024 recovered a fork he had used and discarded in public; a laboratory profile from the fork matched the crime-scene DNA. On July 19, 2024, officers obtained a court-ordered cheek swab from Lauro, which confirmed the match. Lauro died by suicide on July 23, 2024, and police publicly identified him as the source of the DNA on July 29, 2024.
Sources
- Hawaii man linked by DNA on fork to Virginia woman's brutal 1991 killing is found dead before he's arrested
“Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz said the DNA was, in and of itself, not sufficient evidence to prove that Lauro intentionally or knowingly caused her death.”
- Authorities Believe They Finally Figured Out Who Murdered Dana Ireland 30 Years Ago. Then He Killed Himself
“On Christmas Eve 1991, Dana Ireland, 23, was struck by a car while riding a bicycle on an isolated Big Island road in Lower Puna; she was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and beaten, then left in an area called Waawaa where she died after midnight on Christmas morning.”
- Dana Ireland Murder Case: 2nd Man Is Exonerated
“Judge Kubota cited new DNA testing showing that neither the Schweitzers nor Pauline wore a bloody T-shirt that was found at the scene, and that the shirt's DNA matched an unidentified male whose profile also appeared on Dana Ireland's body.”
- Hawaii Island police name suspect in brutal 1991 attack on Dana Ireland
“The Hawaii Police Department matched DNA taken from Dana Ireland's body to that of 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr. of Hawaiian Paradise Park, who lived within two miles of the fishing trail where Ireland was found.”
- DNA expert who identified Dana Ireland's killer said police had enough to arrest him for murder
“Stephen Kramer said they picked up a fork surreptitiously, something that Lauro discarded, sent it to a lab, and got a CODIS profile that matched perfectly with DNA from the crime scene and rape kit.”
- Ian Schweitzer
“DNA from the rape kit, gurney sheet, and t-shirt excluded all three suspects; Ian Schweitzer's conviction was vacated on January 24, 2023, after he had served 23 years.”
- PRESS RELEASE: The Schweitzer Brothers, Framed for the 1991 Murder of Dana Ireland, File Federal Lawsuit in Hawaii
“The complaint alleges detectives manipulated informants John Gonsalves and Frank Pauline Jr., offering them favors and special privileges while fabricating testimony; DNA later identified Albert Lauro Jr., who took his own life in 2024.”
- 7-29-24 Police Identify Suspect in Dana Ireland Murder Investigation
“DNA was recovered from a swab of Ireland's body, a sheet used to transport her, and a t-shirt found at the scene, designated Unknown Male No. 1; in early July 2024 investigators collected a discarded utensil that matched the crime-scene DNA, and on July 19, 2024 a court-ordered buccal swab was collected from Lauro Jr.”
- Shawn Schweitzer
“Post-conviction testing revealed Unknown Male No. 1, DNA that did not match Shawn, his brother Ian, or Frank Pauline; forensic genetic genealogy later identified Albert Lauro Jr., who died by suicide on July 23, 2024.”