29.07.24 Police identify suspect in Dana Ireland murder case

Hawaiian Police Department
Boss’s office
Chief Benjamin T. Moszkowicz
Phone: (808) 961-2244

Media release

Hawaii Police announce the identification of a suspect in the 1991 murder of Dana Ireland using DNA evidence. Ireland was 23 years old at the time of her death and was kidnapped, raped and murdered in the Kapoho area of ​​Hawaii on December 24, 1991. She died the next day at Hilo Medical Center.

“For 33 years, our department has diligently investigated the Dana Ireland case,” said Hawaii Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz.

During the Hawaii Police Department’s investigation, several pieces of evidence were recovered, some of which contained DNA traces. Specifically, DNA was recovered from a swab taken from Ireland’s body, from a sheet used to transport Ireland to the hospital, and from a T-shirt found at the crime scene. During analysis, there was no match in a DNA database, and the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene became known as “Unidentified Male #1.”

In 2008, the DNA evidence was sent to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California as part of a cooperative agreement with the Innocence Project, where it remains to this day.

In the decades since Ireland’s murder, DNA technology has advanced significantly. Additional DNA evidence was collected from the shirt and was found to match the other samples from the crime scene. In addition, experts are now able to extract data from a DNA sample and create a family tree based on the known DNA of relatives. Earlier this year, an FBI agent from the Honolulu field office contacted police investigators with the names of several people who could potentially be identified as “Unidentified Male No. 1.”

One of the names given was that of 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr., who lived in the Kapoho area at the time of the murder. Based on this information, police investigators placed Lauro Jr. under surveillance and attempted to gather more evidence. In early July, they collected a utensil he had used after he had discarded it. The utensil’s DNA was analyzed and found to match “Unidentified Male #1.”

While DNA from the crime scene and the victim clearly provided probable cause that “Unknown Male #1” committed the rape, the statute of limitations on that charge had expired several years earlier. The only remaining crime that still had a statute of limitations was murder. Based on what investigators knew at the time, there was not enough information to establish probable cause to arrest Lauro Jr. for murder.

Investigators obtained a court order to take a cheek swab from Lauro’s cheek to confirm that the DNA taken directly from him matched DNA collected at the crime scene 33 years earlier. On Friday, July 19, Lauro Jr. was asked to come to the station and speak with investigators. The meeting was consensual and he was not in police custody at the time. After speaking with investigators, Lauro Jr. asked to leave, which he was allowed to do after the court-ordered cheek swab was taken. The cheek swab was sent to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California, along with a request to expedite analysis and return the results as soon as possible. Based on this analysis, Hawaii Police can now confirm that the DNA taken at the crime scene matches that of Lauro Jr., a resident of Hawaiian Paradise Park.

“The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures,” Chief Moszkowicz explained. “To obtain a search warrant, investigators must establish a reasonable suspicion of the crime of murder and clearly state what evidence they are seeking.”

“We remain focused on Dana Ireland, a young woman who was brutally murdered. There is still much we don’t know about this case and our investigation into this case continues to progress. Our search for the truth is not over,” added Chief Moszkowicz.

Anyone with information related to this investigation should contact Captain Rio Amon-Wilkins of the Hawaii Police Department Criminal Investigation Division, Area I, at (808) 961-2251 or via email at [email protected].

Pictured: Dana Ireland, Albert Lauro Jr., driver’s license photo from 2017.

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