Hawaii man committed suicide after police took DNA sample in 1991 murder of Virginia woman, attorneys say

HONOLULU (AP) — A man identified as a new possible suspect in the murder and sexual assault of a Virginia woman who was visiting Hawaii more than three decades ago recently killed himself after police took a DNA sample from him, attorneys said in court documents.

Authorities have targeted the man, whose name has not been released, in recent months and took a DNA sample from a discarded fork. He committed suicide last week after police went to his home to test the sample with a swab that had been personally taken from him, attorneys for the Innocence Project said in court documents filed Sunday.

The DNA testing was a major development in a case that made headlines last year when Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, who had spent more than 20 years in prison for the murder, was released based on new evidence. The body of Dana Ireland was found on Christmas Eve 1991 on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Schweitzer was one of three men who served time behind bars for her murder, but he has maintained his innocence. A judge is expected to rule Tuesday on a motion to formally exonerate him.

Schweitzer’s lawyers blasted police Monday, claiming they deliberately bungled the investigation into the man who died last week by failing to take steps to ensure he didn’t flee or commit suicide after they obtained his DNA. They suggested that because of the man’s death, the truth about what happened to Ireland will never come to light. They also demanded a federal investigation, as well as all communications related to the DNA work.

“We knew he had a family. He had a good life,” Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project and assistant to the Hawaii Innocence Project on Schweitzer’s case, said Monday of the man who committed suicide last week. “It’s common knowledge in law enforcement circles … if you have DNA on a man and you know he committed the crime, if you don’t take him into custody, there’s a serious chance that person will flee, destroy evidence or commit suicide.”

Hawaii Police Department spokeswoman Denise Laitinen declined to comment but said the department would release a statement and hold a news conference later Monday.

The push to find out who killed Ireland gained new momentum after the January 2023 release of Schweitzer, who was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 130 years in prison. Lawyers for the Innocence Project, who handled his case, argued that his DNA did not match that on a T-shirt found near Ireland. The shirt did not belong to Ireland but was soaked with her blood and contained DNA from an unidentified man.

Although Schweitzer has been released, his lawyers and prosecutors continue to argue over whether he is actually innocent and entitled to compensation for the years he spent in prison.

Lawyers from Schweitzer’s Innocence Project found a DNA match with the help of Steven Kramer, a retired FBI lawyer and federal prosecutor who led the genetic genealogy team that solved the Golden State Killer case in 2018. Kramer found a match based on genetics, ancestry, age and address history, among other factors.

The man lived less than two miles from where Ireland’s body was found, along a fishing trail in a remote part of the Big Island, according to recent court documents. He was reportedly in his mid-20s at the time and owned or had access to a pickup truck that left the tire tracks found at the crime scene.

Lawyers from the Innocence Project checked his Facebook page and saw that he was still an avid fisherman and likely familiar with the trail by which Ireland was found.

On Monday, the attorneys called for a federal investigation into why police did not arrest the suspect, even when they had probable cause to do so. In their filing, they ask police and prosecutors to turn over all communications about the decision not to seek a warrant after DNA from the man’s fork was tested. They also want to know why he was not arrested before or after police took the DNA swab.

A 2023 petition filed in an effort to free Schweitzer, the last of three Native Hawaiian men still in prison for the murder, detailed the case, one of Hawaii’s most notorious.

Ireland, 23, visiting from Virginia, was found barely alive in the brush along a fishing trail in Puna, a remote part of the island. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten, and later died at Hilo Medical Center. The mangled bicycle she was riding was found several miles away and appeared to have been struck by a vehicle.

The murder remained unsolved for years.

A man named Frank Pauline Jr., who claimed to have witnessed the attack, told police that Schweitzer and his brother, Shawn Schweitzer, had attacked and killed Ireland. But he was questioned at least seven times and gave conflicting statements each time, ultimately incriminating himself, leading prosecutors to charge Pauline and the Schweitzers.

Pauline and Ian Schweitzer were convicted in 2000. Shawn Schweitzer struck a deal to plead guilty to manslaughter and kidnapping — and received credit for about a year of time served and five years of probation — after juries convicted Pauline and his brother in 2000. Pauline died in prison.

The Schweitzer brothers “are happy that this person has finally been caught,” said Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project. “They are disappointed with the way it happened.”