A suspect was arrested this week within the 1975 homicide of a younger girl after a genetic genealogist — who mentioned the chilly case was extraordinarily tough to resolve — turned to a brand new investigative method.
Lindy Sue Biechler, 19, was stabbed to loss of life in her condo in Manor Township, Pennsylvania, on December 5, 1975, in response to the Lancaster County District Legal professional’s Workplace. She suffered 19 stab wounds to her neck, chest, again and stomach, prosecutors mentioned.
Biechler was discovered mendacity on her again with a knife protruding from her neck, prosecutors mentioned, including that the knife was from Biechler’s personal kitchen and a kitchen towel was wrapped round its deal with.
Many years handed with out an arrest within the grotesque crime.
When DNA evaluation emerged within the Nineteen Nineties, prosecutors mentioned, investigators despatched DNA from semen left on Biechler’s underwear to CODIS, the nationwide regulation enforcement DNA database, however by no means no match was discovered.
In 2020, CeCe Moore, a former ABC Information contributor and chief genetic genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs, started investigating the case with genetic family tree, which makes use of the DNA of an unknown suspect to hint their household tree.
Genetic family tree made headlines in 2018 when the brand new analysis software was launched used to search out the Golden State Killer. Genetic family tree takes the DNA of an unknown suspect left at a criminal offense scene and identifies them utilizing members of the family who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a DNA database; this enables the police to create a a lot bigger household tree than if they simply used databases like CODIS.
When Moore started engaged on the Biechler case, she was “extraordinarily dissatisfied” when she uploaded the case file to a DNA database and was solely capable of finding very, very distant kin of the unknown suspect.
“Often I can determine frequent ancestors. However as a result of the frequent ancestors between the matches and the suspect on this case most likely return to the 18th century. [or] 1600, I could not method it the way in which I do typically,” Moore advised ABC Information.
An undated photograph launched by the Lancaster County District Legal professional’s Workplace reveals Lindy Sue Biechler, 19, who was murdered in her condo in Manor Township, Pennsylvania, on December 5, 1975.
Lancaster County District Legal professional’s Workplace
“It was actually bothering me, so I made a decision to develop a brand new method,” he mentioned. “There was a really clear sample of migration from a city in southern Italy referred to as Gasperina, to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”
Moore mentioned he went by means of Lancaster’s papers for months and reached out to an area membership of residents who have been from Italy.
“These membership playing cards checklist when individuals have been born. Since I knew this suspect had roots on this little city of Gasperina, I went by means of all these playing cards and located the individuals who had migrated from Gasperina to Lancaster,” Moore mentioned.
She mentioned she discovered that some 2,300 Italians have been residing in Lancaster on the time of the crime, which was a “manageable” quantity for her.
“About half might be ladies. A sure proportion might be too previous or too younger. I knew this individual needed to be fully Italian from Gasperina or shut,” Moore mentioned.
“I labored with each a type of households that had migrated from that very particular city,” he mentioned. “It was actually solely doable due to this singular [membership card] assortment of data that Lancaster had”.
Moore mentioned he in contrast these membership playing cards to Ellis Island data and World Warfare I and World Warfare II draft registration playing cards to determine the boys who moved from Gasperina to Lancaster, after which labored to determine their descendants.
“I simply labored quietly by myself time. I did not know if it will work,” Moore mentioned.
After taking a look at all of the Italian households in Lancaster in 1975, Moore mentioned he zeroed in on 68-year-old David Sinopoli. All of his grandparents have been from Gasperina, Moore mentioned, and had beforehand lived in Biechler’s condo complicated, prosecutors mentioned.
In February 2022, investigators surveilled Sinopoli and recovered a espresso cup he used and threw away at Philadelphia Worldwide Airport, prosecutors mentioned. Labs later confirmed that DNA on Sinopoli’s espresso cup matched DNA from semen on Biechler’s underwear, in response to prosecutors.
Investigators additionally discovered that DNA in blood left on Biechler’s pantyhose was decided to be according to semen from Biechler’s underwear, prosecutors mentioned.
David Sinopoli, 68, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has been charged with the 1975 homicide of 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler.
Lancaster County District Legal professional’s Workplace
Sinopoli, who has lived in Lancaster because the homicide, was arrested at his house Sunday on a prison murder cost, prosecutors introduced Monday. His preliminary listening to is ready for July 25. A protection lawyer is just not included.
Sinopoli “wasn’t on our radar,” Lancaster County District Legal professional Heather Adams mentioned at a information convention. Sinopoli “was by no means acquitted,” Adams mentioned, however “not one of the councils through the years had steered him as a doable suspect.”
Biechler’s homicide marked the primary time Moore used this new method, and he mentioned he has since used it efficiently in two extra instances.
Adams praised Moore and Parabon NanoLabs in an announcement, saying the arrest wouldn’t have been doable with out their assist.
“There was a endless seek for justice on this case that has led us to determine and arrest Sinopoli,” Adams mentioned. “The police definitely by no means forgot about Lindy Sue, and this arrest marks step one in getting justice for her and holding her killer accountable.”