The murder of Marise Ann Chiverella
Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania · 1964
Overview
On March 18, 1964, nine-year-old Marise Ann Chiverella was abducted, sexually assaulted, and strangled while walking to her Catholic school in Hazleton, Pennsylvania; her body was found that afternoon in an abandoned strip-mine pit. The case stayed cold for nearly 58 years until investigative genetic genealogy identified James Paul Forte, a local bartender who died in 1980, as her killer. Because Forte was long deceased, he was never charged or tried; the case was closed by official identification.
How it was solved
Pennsylvania State Police's lab developed a suspect DNA profile in 2007 from a stain on Marise's jacket, and in 2018 partnered with Parabon NanoLabs, uploading the profile to the GEDmatch database, where it matched a very distant relative of the killer. Volunteer genetic genealogist Eric Schubert, an Elizabethtown College student who joined the case in 2020, built more than fifty family trees from those distant matches and traced the lineage to James Paul Forte. After Forte's body was exhumed, his DNA was confirmed to match the 1964 crime-scene profile in early February 2022.
Sources
- Murder of Marise Chiverella
“Forte was never arrested or tried for Chiverella's murder because he died in 1980, before being identified as the perpetrator.”
- College genealogist, DNA help solve 57-year-old rape, murder of 9-year-old Pennsylvania girl
“last seen about 8:10 a.m. near 6th Street and Church Street ... DNA profile from a stain left on Marise's jacket ... uploaded the killer's DNA profile into GEDmatch”
- James Paul Forte Identified As Man Who Killed Marise Chiverella
“Marise Chiverella left her Hazleton home early to deliver canned goods to a nun before attending class ... two miles away in a strip-mining pit near the Hazleton Municipal Airport”
- College Student Helps ID Suspect in 1964 Pennsylvania Cold Case Murder
“Eric Schubert, a 20-year-old genealogy specialist at Elizabethtown College, assisted in solving the case ... DNA matched sample from Marise's coat”
- Solving a Cold Case After 58 Years
“It took two years ... working through low matches, building over fifty family trees, having more DNA samples provided, and finding a connection to Hazleton, the Pennsylvania State Police and I were able to identify Marise's assailant.”
- College student with passion for genealogy helps solve Marise Chiverella cold case
“College student with passion for genealogy helps solve Marise Chiverella cold case”