Thanks to a discarded coffee cup, a man in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was arrested and charged in the 1975 murder of 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler, who was stabbed to death in her own home, NPR reported.
Investigators had been surveilling David Sinopoli, 68, who became a main suspect in the case after advanced DNA and genealogy tracking linked him to the crime scene. The evidence they had, however, was not enough to warrant an arrest. Investigators had to work to find something more substantial.
Their break came when they retrieved a coffee cup that was discarded by the suspect at Philadelphia International Airport before Sinopoli boarded a flight. The DNA retrieved from the cup matched DNA from the crime scene. Sinopoli was on Sunday arrested.
"This case was solved with the use of DNA and specifically DNA genealogy, and quite honestly without that, I don't know that we would have ever solved it," Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said, according to NPR.
Biechler was living at the Spring Manor Apartments in Manor Township with her husband at the time of her death, NPR noted. Her aunt and uncle discovered her body when they stopped by for a visit.
Biechler was stabbed 19 times in her neck, chest and back, and there were signs of a struggle. Investigators collected DNA from the crime scene, but it would take another decade for DNA testing to enter the U.S. legal system.
Investigators circled back to the case after another cold case was solved through the assistance of advanced analysis from Parabon NanoLabs, which narrowed a list of suspects based on the DNA from Biechler's clothing. Sinopoli became the prime suspect after it was discovered that he had lived at the same apartment complex as Biechler at the time of her killing.
Sinopoli was charged with one count of criminal homicide, NPR reported.
"This has been a never-ending pursuit of justice for Lindy Sue Biechler that has led us to identifying and arresting David Sinopoli," Adams said. "Lindy Sue Biechler was on the minds of many throughout the years. Certainly law enforcement has never forgotten about her. And this arrest marks the first step in obtaining justice for Lindy Sue Biechler and holding her killer responsible."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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