DNA evidence leads to arrest in 50-year-old cold case murder

By Matthew Nuttle

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    RENO, Nevada (KITV) — A Reno man was arrested on Monday in connection with a 50-year-old cold case murder in Waikiki.

The original crime happened back in January 1971. According to Honolulu Police (HPD), 19-year-old Nancy Anderson was found dead by her roommate in their Waikiki apartment, located at 2222 Aloha Drive, on Jan. 7, 1972.

Investigators say Nancy had been stabbed multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

At the time of the incident, HPD homicide detectives could not develop any viable leads and the case went cold. That is until September 2022, when a suspect was finally identified by DNA evidence using the services of Parabon Nanolabs, investigators said.

Using DNA found during the investigation, Parabon created trait predictions for a person of interest in the case. Those predictions were used to make a snapshot composite of the suspect.

On Sept. 12, a no-bail warrant was obtained and the suspect was arrested in Reno on a complaint of second-degree murder. That person has not yet been identified. They are awaiting extradition back to Honolulu.

Parabon Nanolabs is a DNA technology company in Virginia that specializes in advanced DNA analysis services.

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