7-29-24 Police Identify Suspect in Dana Ireland Murder Investigation

Hawaii Police Department
Office of the Chief
Chief Benjamin T. Moszkowicz
Phone: (808) 961-2244

Press release

The Hawai’i Police Department announces the identification of a suspect through DNA evidence in the 1991 murder of Dana Ireland. Ireland was 23 years old at the time of her death and was abducted, raped and murdered in the Kapoho area of ​​Hawai’i Island on December 24, 1991. She died the following day at Hilo Medical Center.

“Our department has been steadfast in investigating the Dana Ireland case for 33 years,” said Hawaii Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz.

As part of the Hawai’i Police Department’s investigation, several pieces of evidence were recovered, some of which contained DNA evidence. Specifically, DNA was found in a swab taken from Ireland’s body, in a bed sheet used to transport Ireland to the hospital, and in a t-shirt found at the crime scene. Although it was analyzed at the time, there was no match in a DNA database and the individual whose DNA was found at the crime scene became known as “Unknown Male #1.”

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

In the decades since Ireland was murdered, DNA technology has advanced significantly. Additional DNA evidence has been collected from the T-shirt and has been found to match other samples from the crime scene. In addition, experts can now extract information 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 “Unknown Male #1.”

One of the names provided was that of 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr., who lived in the Kapoho area at the time of the murder. Based on that information, police detectives kept Lauro Jr. under surveillance to gather more evidence. In early July, they seized a piece of cutlery that he had been using after throwing it away. DNA from the cutlery was analyzed and found to match “Unknown Male #1.”

While the DNA found at the crime scene and on the victim certainly established probable cause that “Unknown Male #1” committed the rape, the statute of limitations on that charge had already expired several years ago. The only crime still within the 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 obtain a buccal swab from Lauro’s cheek to confirm that the DNA taken directly from him matched the 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 and was allowed to do so after the court-ordered buccal swab was collected. The buccal swab was sent to the California Forensic Analytical Crime Lab with a request to expedite the analysis and return the results as soon as possible. Based on that analysis, the Hawai’i Police Department can now confirm that the DNA collected at the crime scene matched Lauro Jr., a resident of Hawaiian Paradise Park.

“The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from unwarranted search and seizure,” Chief Moszkowicz explained. “In order to obtain a search warrant, investigators would have to establish probable cause for the crime of murder and specifically explain what evidence they were seeking.”

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

Anyone with information regarding this investigation may contact the Hawai’i Police Department Area I Criminal Investigations Division, Captain Rio Amon-Wilkins, at (808) 961-2251 or via email at [email protected].

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