Two Native Hawaiian brothers convicted in the 1991 murder of a visiting Hawaii woman alleged in a federal lawsuit that local police framed them “under intense pressure to solve the high-profile murder” and then killed a woman last year. Thwarted the investigation which would have revealed the real thing. Killer using advances in DNA technology.
Albert “Ian” SchweitzerA man who spent more than two decades in prison for the murder of Dana Ireland was released in 2023 based on new evidence. The 23-year-old tourist from Ireland, Virginia, was visiting a remote part of the Big Island when she was found on a fishing trail, raped and beaten and barely alive. He died in a hospital.
Schweitzer was one of the three men spent time behind bars on his murder, but he always maintained his innocence. His brother Shawn Schweitzer took a deal in 2000 to plead guilty to murder and kidnapping after a jury convicted his brother and received credit for nearly a year of time served and five years of probation.
The brothers' lawsuit emphasizes that they “had no connection to the crime” and that investigators never found physical evidence linking them to Ireland's murder.
Marco Garcia/The Innocence Project via AP
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu. It names Hawaii County as a defendant, the county police chief, as well as former detectives and the prosecutor who handled the case. Both the county and the police chief say they will not comment pending litigation.
The lawsuit involves officers who have died but includes retired public defender Alexander Silvert told HawaiiNewsNow This is not unusual.
“It's important to tell everyone different names,” Silvert told the station.
The lawsuit alleges the misconduct continued last year, when it was identified due to advances in DNA technology new possible suspect Who committed suicide after the police took his DNA swab.
The Schweitzers' attorneys said police took no steps to arrest 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr., who lived less than 2 miles from where Ireland's body was found, even though they knew DNA linked him to him. Connects crime scene evidence.
“Instead, the defendants released Mr. Lauro, allowing a man who had been hiding a secret for more than two decades to return home free to do whatever he wanted,” the lawsuit said. Came.”
William Harrison, one of the brothers' Honolulu lawyers, said of the Hawaii Innocence Project. warned the police department HawaiiNewsNow reported that Lauro would not be released.
Harrison said, “We told him he would either run away or commit suicide and you know what, our words came true.”
Jennifer Cinco Kelleher/AP
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for claims, including depriving the brothers of their constitutional right to due process, conspiracy and malicious prosecution.
Harrison said Wednesday that a separate effort is underway to seek compensation from the state for the wrongful conviction. Ian Schweitzer is entitled to $50,000 for each year he spent in prison as a result of his wrongful conviction, Harrison said. Shawn Schweitzer spent one year in prison.
“Extreme pressure to solve this case”
In 1991, a woman found Dana Ireland “clinging to life” in bushes along a fishing path in Puna, on a remote part of the Big Island. According to the Hawaii Innocence Project.
“Dana was inconsolable, partially clothed and believed she was clearly the victim of sexual assault,” the group said. “When Dana was taken to Hilo Hospital he waited for an hour and a half before emergency services arrived. He tragically died at 12:07 a.m. on December 25, 1991, due to massive blood loss.”
The damaged bicycle she was riding was found several miles away and appeared to have been hit by a vehicle.
William Ing/AP
The murder of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed visitor from Virginia attracted national attention and remained unsolved for years, putting immense pressure on police to find the killer.
Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, said, “Anytime you have a white, female victim…she gets more attention than people of color and Native Hawaiians.” said in 2023“The parents, obviously, were becoming more and more angry. … There was immense pressure on them to solve this case. And when that happens, mistakes are made. Some intentional and some unintentional.”