Mississippi
Florida deputies arrest Mississippi man in 1987 cold case murder
Deputies in Florida say they’ve recognized the person who allegedly dedicated a homicide in 1987.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace introduced on Wednesday evening that deputies arrested Michael Lapniewski, Jr., 55, for allegedly killing Opal Weil, who was 82-years-old when she was killed.
Officers say that Weil was discovered lifeless on February 9, 1987, when her sister-in-law went to test on her after not answering the phone, and say that the lady had “apparent and visual indicators of trauma.”
The suspect fled the scene earlier than deputies arrived to the St. Petersburg, Florida, residence, officers say.
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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace introduced on Wednesday evening that deputies arrested Michael Lapniewski, Jr., 55 (L), for allegedly killing Opal Weil (R), who was 82-years-old when she was killed.
(Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace/Florida Division of Regulation Enforcement)
Lapniewski allegedly gained entry into the house by eradicating a “single windowpane” and entered a room of the residence, including that the cellphone line to the house was reduce.
Investigators discovered a number of hairs included within the proof collected from the scene, and have been capable of type a partial DNA profile however did not make an arrest on the time.
When chilly case detectives from the sheriff’s workplace have been assigned to the case in December 2020, investigators requested the Florida Division of Regulation Enforcement to conduct extra testing of the hairs situated on the scene and contracted Parabon Nanolabs to “conduct additional genealogical testing.”
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By means of “in depth testing” by Parabon Nanolabs, household bushes have been constructed and kinfolk have been recognized, narrowing the listing of suspects down to a few doable males, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
Detectives have been capable of slender the listing of suspects down additional, leaving Lapniewski because the suspect, who officers say lived a half a mile away from Weil on the time of the homicide.
After studying that the suspect was residing in Waveland, Mississippi, Pinellas County detectives went to the realm the place Lapniewski resides and have been capable of acquire his DNA, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. Detectives then submitted the DNA for testing, which they are saying got here again as a match for the DNA profile developed on the scene.
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Lapniewski was arrested by Mississippi authorities on Jan. 26 and extradited to Florida, the place he faces a first-degree homicide cost.