Mississippi man arrested in 1987 murder of Pinellas County woman, cold case detectives say

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Developments in DNA testing helped hyperlink a Mississippi man to a 1987 chilly case homicide in Pinellas County, investigators say. 

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace stated its chilly case unit arrested 55-year-old Michael Lapniewski Jr. for the homicide of 82-year-old Opal Weil. Chilly case detectives stated they investigated the case over a number of years. 

Deputies first responded on February 9, 1987, to a house in unincorporated St. Petersburg, in line with detectives. Weil was based useless by her sister-in-law after not answering her phone, Pinellas County deputies stated. 

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Weil had apparent indicators of trauma, and deputies stated they found that the suspect fled the scene earlier than they arrived. 

Again in 1987, detectives stated discovered that the suspect bought into the house after eradicating a single windowpane and coming into the Florida room of the residence. In line with detectives, the cellphone line on the dwelling had additionally been minimize. 

Forensic technicians on the time collected proof left on the scene, together with a number of hairs, detectives stated. All through the investigation, a partial DNA profile was developed from the hairs, however no matches had been recognized till just lately, in line with PCSO. 

Pinellas chilly case detectives had been assigned to the case in December 2020, they usually stated they despatched the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement (FDLE) a request for extra testing of these hairs. In addition they stated they contacted Parabon Nanolabs to conduct genealogical testing. 

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Parabon Nanolabs testing was in a position to assemble household timber, they usually had been in a position to determine familial relations and slender down to a few attainable male suspects, in line with detectives. 

 PCSO’s chilly case unit was in a position to exclude two suspects, which left Lapniewski as the first one. Detectives stated he lived a half mile from the house the place the homicide occurred in 1987. 

Pinellas County detectives traveled to Waveland, Mississippi after studying Lapniewski at the moment lived there. They obtained his DNA, which was submitted to FDLE for evaluation, and it matched proof on the homicide scene. 

PCSO stated detectives arrested Lapniewski in Mississippi on January 26 and extradited him to Pinellas County the place he’s dealing with a first-degree homicide cost.