HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Using DNA technology, authorities have identified a Hawaii Island resident as the man who brutally attacked and killed Dana Ireland on Christmas Eve in 1991.
The shocking revelation offers hope of closure in a mystery that gripped Hawaii for decades.
The man’s name is not yet being released, but authorities say he was a resident of Hawaiian Paradise Park. The 57-year old would have been 25 at the time of the crime.
Last week, after law enforcement secured a search warrant for a cheek swab, the man killed himself. He lived within two miles of the fishing trail where Ireland was found, brutally beaten.
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She died the next day.
Ireland had been kidnapped, beaten and raped. She died from blood loss.
Special Series from HNN: Who Killed Dana Ireland
DNA collected from seven separate samples were used. Semen found on her body and on her clothes, plus sweat and skin from a Jimmy’z t-shirt were all tested and all pointed to one person.
The Hawaii Innocence Project, working with law enforcement, sent the DNA samples to the California lab Indago Solutions. Steve Kramer, of Indago Solutions, is credited with identifying the man known as the Golden State Killer — who committed more than a dozen murders.
Ken Lawson, of the Hawaii Innocence Project, said Kramer used forensic genealogy testing in the Ireland case. “He was able to go back to records, back to the 1700s here in Hawaii,” Lawson said.
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Through that extensive research, Kramer identified one potential suspect in February and gave the results to the FBI.
An FBI agent and Hawaii County police officers subsequently started surveillance on the man and last month, were able to get a fork that the man used and publicly discarded.
That fork was also sent to the lab for more testing and a match was reported in July.
On July 19, court records said officers, with a search warrant, collected DNA from the man using a cheek swab. Days later, the man was found dead in his home from an apparent suicide.
The next day, the DNA results from the cheek swab confirmed, yet again, it was a match.
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“He didn’t spend a day in jail,” said Lawson.
Three men were arrested and charged for the murder of Ireland in 1999. Albert Ian Schweitzer spent 23 years in prison before his conviction was vacated in January 2023. In October 2023, his brother Shawn Schweitzer had his conviction vacated.
Frank Pauline died in prison while serving time for the Ireland murder.
The Hawaii and New York Innocence Projects represented the Schweitzer brothers.
Lawson said the man responsible for the crime “took the easy way out” after attacking Ireland and allowing others to go to prison instead.
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A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the new developments in the case.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Each week before Cal plays a football game, we ask someone who covers Cal’s next opponent five questions about that opponent.
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To answer questions about Cal’s Hawaii Bowl opponent Hawaii this week we enlisted the services of Stephen Tsai, who covers Hawaii football for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and has been named Hawaii sports writer of the year seven times.
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We were particularly intrigued by his answer to Question No. 5, where Tsai noted that there would portably be no Hawaii Bowl without Rolovich, a former Hawaii head coach and Cal’s interim head coach for the Hawaii Bowl.
—1. Every team has a home-field advantage, but it seems Hawaii has been even better than most teams at home. Is that true, and if so, why?
There are several obstacles for visiting teams. There’s the time difference. Hawaii games usually kick off at 6 p.m., which is midnight on the East Coast during daylight savings time, 11 p.m. for standard time. Because the Ching Complex is a temporary home venue, there are open areas in the corners, allowing for cross winds that affect field-goal attempts. The so-called “Manoa Mist” also impacts the ball-handling positions.
The visiting team is assigned a makeshift locker room combining the neighboring baseball stadium’s locker room and part of the concourse. Before the walls were built, the concourse area was cordoned off with curtains. Nothing like being near concession stands while preparing for a football game. Because of the time difference, a team can depart the West Coast in the morning and practice in Hawaii that afternoon. In contrast, teams lose preparation time for the next game when traveling back to the mainland.
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—2. How much will the absence of all-conference wide receiver Jackson Harris affect Hawaii’s offense?
Aside from the deep threat — he had four TDs of 70-plus yards — Harris was sure-handed (three drops in 74 targets), clutch on scramble plays (37 of his 49 receptions resulted in first downs), and used his height and reach to attack 50-50 balls. As the left wideout, Harris benefited from left-handed QB Micah Alejado’s rollouts and left slotback Pofele Ashlock’s decoy routes.
Hawaii has experienced wideouts in Karsyn Pupunu and Brandon White, but the Warriors will have to be creative to make up for Harris’ deep-pass threat.
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—3. Assess the abilities of Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado.
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Alejado is accurate and has a coach’s knowledge of the Warriors’ read-and-attack, four-wide offense. He’s quick to decipher schemes with pre-snap reads. At 5-10, Alejado is like the detective behind a one-way mirror. He can find receivers yet it is a challenge for defenders to see him behind a taller offensive line.
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—4. Who are the top two or three players on Hawaii’s offense and defense?
Alejado, running back Landon Sims and left guard and Zhen Sotelo are the impact players on offense. Jalen Smith, who can play both linebacker spots, and De’Jon Benton, who lines up as 3-tech tackle or end, provide defensive versatility. An opposing coach mused that UH could run a 1-10 formation with Benton.
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—5. Do Hawaii fans still remember Nick Rolovich, who is Cal’s interim head coach for the Hawaii Bowl?
Without Rolo, there probably would not be a Hawaii Bowl. He threw eight touchdown passes to help the Warriors stomp then-unbeaten BYU in the 2001 regular-season finale. But with no postseason bowl invitation for the 9-3 Warriors, the leaders of UH, WAC and ESPN created the Hawaii Bowl the next year.
Rolo was innovative as a UH offensive coordinator and play-calling head coach. He ran his variation of June Jones’ run-and-shoot offense. He also provided entertainment, bringing an Elvis impersonator to media day; awarding a scholarship at a wrestling match and another in a koala cage at an Australian zoo; and designing a rivalry trophy for the matchup against UNLV.
On the road, he once conducted a quarterbacks’ meeting in the hotel jacuzzi. He also coined the popular phrase: Live aloha, play Warrior.
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Honolulu police opened a murder investigation today after finding the body of a 60-year-old woman while doing a welfare check at a Hawaii Kai home.
Police said officers arrested the victim’s 29-year-old son and a 27-year-old woman who were inside the residence and identified as suspects.
After receiving a 10:25 a.m. welfare check call, HPD officers responded to a home on the 6200 block of Upolo Place and found a woman dead on the floor inside the residence.
“Preliminary investigation revealed the woman sustained fatal injuries,” HPD said.
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The two suspects were arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and the investigation is ongoing, according to police.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A group of nonprofits are asking the public to help support efforts to return Maunawili Valley to community care.
Dean Wilhelm, co-executive director of Ho’okuaaina, Reyna Ramolete Hayashi, aloha aina project manager at Trust for Public Land, and Kaleo Wong, executive director of Kauluakalana, joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about more than a decade of work by Hui Maunawili–Kawainui, a coalition of nonprofits and generational ohana to purchase and protect more than 1,000 acres on windward Oahu to benefit the community.
“Our Hoihoi Maunawili fundraising campaign is four nonprofits working together to raise $500,000 for the future stewardship of the land. The nonprofit partners are Kauluakalana, Ho’okua’aina, Hawaii Land Trust, and Trust for Public Land,” Hayashi said.
Nonprofit leaders say Hoihoi Maunawili is working with the current landowner, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, to transfer stewardship of the land.
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“These lands include the most fertile growing soil in all Hawaii, important cultural sites, and freshwater streams and springs that will be forever protected. Capital funds have been secured to purchase the land,” Hayashi said.
“This land has sustained generations. By returning it to the community and restoring it for shared use and cultural renewal, we will safeguard resources for future generations and increase our community’s resilience,” Wilhelm said.
“Until the 1960s, this land was very productive. It was the ‘Breadbasket of Oahu.’ Alii specifically would ask for kalo grown on these lands. This effort seeks to return it to its former abundance, ultimately improving local food security and water security through community-led agriculture that strengthens Hawaii food systems and creates green jobs for a sustainable local economy.”
“Buying and protecting the land is only the beginning,” Wong said. “In this season of giving, we are asking the community to join us in this movement to restore water, food, culture and community in Maunawili.”
To donate and learn more, visit hoihoimaunawili.org. The public can also support by volunteering or joining a talk story.
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