A suspect in the 1991 rape and murder of a young woman died by suicide after he was identified and questioned by investigators, police in Hawaii said Monday.
Dana Ireland was 23 years old when she was kidnapped, raped and killed in the Kapoho area, police said. She was found on Christmas Eve and died at a hospital the next day.
Police said DNA found on her body and on a sheet used to take her to the hospital was recently tested and came back as a match for Albert Lauro Jr., 57.
Police questioned him on July 19, but at the time they didn’t have probable cause to arrest him on suspicion of murder — and by that time, charges related to rape had lapsed because of the statute of limitations, leaving only the murder charge, Hawai‘i Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz said.
“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 at a news conference Monday.
Police expected to get more evidence they needed in the case from Lauro, Moszkowicz said. Earlier Monday, investigators got access to his cellphone, he said.
Attempts to reach relatives of Lauro were not immediately successful Monday.
Moszkowicz defended the choice not to arrest Lauro on July 19, when Lauro agreed to answer police questions but then asked to leave.
He said that had Lauro been arrested without probable cause, any other evidence or breakthroughs in the case that followed could have been challenged as inadmissible.
Ireland was a tourist visiting from Virginia. She was found barely alive in the bushes along a fishing trail in Puna.
In January 2023, a man who was convicted in her killing, Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, was ordered released after his attorneys presented new evidence and argued that he didn’t commit the crimes.
Schweitzer was sentenced to 130 years in prison and served 23 of them before a judge ordered his release.
Lauro’s death is the subject of a coroner’s inquest. Moszkowicz did not disclose the suspected manner but said, “We do believe that he killed himself.” His body was found at his home, Moszkowicz said.
Whether he left a note or anything else behind is under investigation, but “there wasn’t anything obvious at the scene,” Moszkowicz said. Investigators are still talking to his loved ones and hope access to the cellphone helps.
“We hope that there’s information that helps us understand why he made the choice that he made,” Moszkowicz said.
Ireland’s killing remains under investigation.
“We remain committed, as we have since day one, of solving this case,” Moszkowicz said.
Police hope anyone who may have known Lauro and who has relevant information will come forward.
Three people in all served prison terms after they were convicted in the Ireland case.
In addition to Schweitzer, Frank Pauline Jr. was sentenced to three life sentences; he was killed by an inmate at a New Mexico prison in 2015.
Schweitzer’s brother, Shawn, took a plea deal and ended up serving one year of time served and five years of probation.
Moskowitz said that when the DNA was taken from the Ireland crime scene at the time, it did not match any databases and was known as “Unknown Male #1.”
He said changes in technology allowed the match to be made, including for DNA that was found on a shirt at the scene. Early this month, police collected a fork that Lauro had used in a public place and then thrown away, and that was used to help match him to the DNA, he said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
