DNA from underneath the fingernails of a Las Vegas girl killed in 1980 has led to the arrest of a suspect within the long-cold homicide case, police stated Monday.
Sandra DiFelice, 25, was “brutally raped and murdered” in a house she shared with a roommate on Dec. 26, 1980, Las Vegas Police Lt. Jason Johansson stated.
DNA collected from underneath her fingernails was examined utilizing new expertise after detectives took one other take a look at her case, and the suspect, Paul Nuttall, was arrested Thursday, police stated.
“I’m hopeful that ultimately, form or type this offers some type of closure for the household,” Johansson, of the division’s murder part, stated at a information convention.
It was DiFelice’s daughter who final 12 months prompted a assessment of her mom’s case, when she referred to as police in February 2021 and requested whether or not there was any replace.
The daughter was 3 years outdated on the time of the killing and was staying together with her grandparents on the night time of the crime, he stated.
After police and the DNA lab seemed on the case once more, “they had been in a position to decide that there was extra proof that might be submitted for processing utilizing new DNA expertise,” Johansson stated.
That led to Nuttall, now 64, police stated. He was arrested on fees of homicide, sexual assault and housebreaking, police stated, and was nonetheless dwelling in Las Vegas.
Nuttall was being held with out bail Monday night time, in keeping with on-line jail information.
Court docket information record a public defender as Nuttall’s lawyer, and the workplace couldn’t be reached after enterprise hours Monday. A cellphone quantity for his residence couldn’t be discovered.
Nuttall had been checked out as an individual of curiosity on the time of the killing, and his fingerprint was present in DiFelice’s residence, Johansson instructed reporters Monday.
However on the time there was one other rationalization, he stated, and police imagine Nuttall knew DiFelice’s roommate and should have identified DiFelice in passing.
