‘It’s him,’ new evidence links to suspect involved in 1991 Big Island case

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Dana Ireland was the victim of a brutal sexual assault and was killed in 1991. The hunt for her killer has taken many turns. The Hawaii Innocence Project said DNA evidence led authorities to a suspect. But now, that suspect is dead.

Ken Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project said it’s disappointing to think that after all this time, the killer will never be brought to justice.

After decades, Dana Ireland’s killer was finally identified with the help of expert FBI genetic testing and samples taken from a fork of a suspect, according to the Hawaii Innocence Project.

“So on July 1, the lab comes back and says we have a match. It matches this guy, right? He is the person who committed the rape. It’s his sperm that was found on Dana’s body. It’s his sperm that was found on the hospital gurney she was put on when she was taken to the hospital. It’s his sperm that was found on the t-shirt. It’s him,” explained Lawson.

Lawson said the Innocence Project reached out to the attorney general’s office with concerns regarding how the Hawaii County Police Department would handle the situation.

He said they were assured the investigation would be handled professionally. Last Wednesday, Lawson said he got an upsetting email.

“I open it up, and it’s like, oh that one. The detective went out there and swabbed this guy on Friday, July 19, and it doesn’t look like from the DNA report, they arrested him. We started calling around to see if this guy is locked up in jail. We call the prosecutor’s office like ‘Hey, where’s this guy at?'”

Once he realized the suspect was not in jail, he called the morgue and found what he feared to be true.

He committed suicide on Tuesday. Why would you let someone who you know is the match? This ain’t anything like that. It’s a match and you just let them go.

Ken Lawson, Co-Director of Hawaii Innocence Project

Lawson said they filed court documents to preserve any evidence the Hawaii Police Department may have collected during their time with the suspect and want the FBI to launch an investigation into the handling of the situation.

“For Dana Ireland’s family, you kind of feel for them because there’s just so many questions that are now going unanswered,” said Lawson.

KHON2 reached out to the Hawaii County Police Department, who said they will be issuing a statement and holding a press conference on Monday.

The hearing for the motion to preserve evidence will be held Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Albert Ian Schweitzer and Shawn Schweitzer were both exonerated of Ireland’s murder.

The Hawaii Innocence Project hopes the evidence will prove without doubt that the Schweitzer brothers are innocent.