DNA from fork leads to arrest of Florida man 15 years after uncle killed in NYC

A person in Florida has been indicted on a second-degree homicide cost within the 2009 killing of his uncle in New York Metropolis after authorities say DNA collected from a discarded fork linked him to the crime.

Rosario Prestigiacomo, 64, was stabbed to demise at his Queens house on Feb. 10, 2009, according to a news release from the Queens County District Legal professional’s Workplace. A neighbor heard a disturbance and referred to as police, who discovered Prestigiacomo face down in a pool of blood. The investigation discovered that he had been stabbed 16 instances within the face, neck, torso and extremities, and that he had blunt-force accidents as properly. 

Blood swabs have been collected from the situation, in accordance with the district lawyer, and the town’s health worker used the fabric on them to create DNA profiles for the sufferer and an “extra unknown male.” The second profile was entered into databases, however didn’t match any profiles at present within the system. 

The case remained chilly till March 2022. That is when the district lawyer’s workplace and the NYPD chilly case squad joined forces with Othram, a personal laboratory, and the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety to make use of forensic genetic genealogy to attempt to study extra in regards to the second particular person. Forensic genetic genealogy makes use of genetic analysis and DNA evaluation to attempt to determine DNA profiles. 

Othram was in a position to make use of superior DNA testing to create a “complete genealogical profile” from blood left on the homicide scene, the district lawyer stated. In the meantime, the NYPD’s Forensic Investigations Division used databases and public data to construct a household tree of the sufferer to attempt to decide doable suspects.

That household tree helped lead investigators to Anthony Scalici, Prestigiacomo’s nephew. Scalici, now 41, lived in Boynton Seaside, Florida. 

Detectives from the NYPD and the Boynton Seaside Police Division surveyed Scalici in Florida, working to acquire a DNA pattern. On Feb. 17, 2024 — virtually precisely 15 years after his uncle was murdered — police have been capable of retrieve a discarded fork that Scalici had used. 

That fork was analyzed and a DNA profile matched the unknown DNA discovered on the homicide scene, the district lawyer stated. Matching DNA was additionally recovered from underneath Prestigiacomo’s fingernail. 

United States Marshals, the Boynton Seaside Police Division and the NYPD’s Regional Fugitive Activity Pressure arrested Scalici on Could 14. He was extradited to New York Metropolis on Wednesday. 

The New York Times reported that Scalici’s lawyer, David Cohen, stated his consumer had pleaded not responsible. He’s being held at Rikers Island, the Occasions reported, and can subsequent seem in courtroom on July 8. 

Scalici faces as much as 25 years to life in jail if convicted.

Invesitgators say at the moment the motive is unclear, CBS New York reported.

The district lawyer’s workplace stated that is the primary time forensic genetic family tree has been used to determine and arrest a murder suspect in New York Metropolis. 

“I fashioned a Chilly Case Unit to convey closure to grieving households and search justice on behalf of victims,” stated district lawyer Melinda Katz within the information launch. “This case is an instance of the perseverance and dedication of the investigators on this, and each chilly case, and highlights the profitable partnership fashioned between my workplace and the NYPD Chilly Case Squad. Defendants shouldn’t be capable of evade justice regardless of how a lot time has handed.”