DNA Match Leads to Arrest of Suspect in 50-Year-Old Hawaii Schoolgirl Murder Case

honolulu, hawaii - Former classmate arrested in nursing home after DNA match in cold case of schoolgirl's murder and rape.

Breakthrough in Cold Case

A former classmate of the schoolgirl, Dawn, was taken into custody at a nursing home in Utah last week. Dawn was found half-naked, strangled with an orange cloth, and sexually assaulted on the second floor of her high school in Honolulu on March 21, 1977. New DNA analysis has potentially solved the case.

The sixty-six-year-old suspect is now facing charges of murder and manslaughter. Advanced DNA techniques led to a match with the suspect's DNA. Despite being questioned before, the suspect managed to evade suspicion until now. Investigators on Hawaii began reexamining evidence in 2019, leading to the identification of the suspect through DNA found on clothing items left at the crime scene.

With the assistance of the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, authorities located and linked the suspect to the crime, resulting in his arrest and pending extradition to Honolulu. Deena Thoemmes from the Honolulu Police Department expressed gratitude for those involved in the arrest.