LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Forty-six years after the brutal murder of Lindy Sue Biechler in Lancaster County, an arrest has been made in the case. Before today, it’s believed to be the oldest cold case in the county.
“This has been a long and difficult case for everybody for 46 1/2 years,” said Manor Township Police Chief Todd Graeff.
“Lindy Sue Biechler was 19 when her life was brutally taken away from her 46 years ago,” said Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams.
But now, there is an arrest in the case. Sixty-eight-year-old David Sinopoli was taken into custody Sunday morning at his Lancaster County house, charged in the brutal stabbing death of 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler.
“This case has been very emotional for many of our officers. They have shed tears. They have had sleepless nights hoping one day that an arrest would be made and finally yesterday it was made,” said Chief Graeff.
It’s a gruesome crime that has gripped the community for nearly five decades. Lindy Sue Biechler was stabbed 19 times and found dead in her Manor Township apartment in December of 1975. The knife was left in her neck. Physical evidence, including blood and semen, was left behind by the killer.
“This case was solved by using DNA and specifically DNA genealogy. Quite honestly without that, I don't know if we would've solved it,” said District Attorney Adams.
After extracting DNA from Biechler’s underwear in 2019, genealogy narrowed down Sinopoli as a suspect. Surveillance and DNA matching over the past six months confirmed the suspect information. Old records indicate, at one point, although it’s not known if at the same time as the killing, Sinopoli lived in the same apartment complex and same building as Biechler.
“This is why we do what we do. It's very meaningful for us to be able to try to provide some sense of relief to the victims,” DA Adams said.
For at least the past 30 years, David Sinopoli has continued to live in Lancaster County, less than five miles from the crime scene. Married with four children, the 68-year-old is now facing charges of criminal homicide.
“We hope that it brings some sense of relief to the victims' loved ones and to the community,” said DA Adams.
Investigators are well-convinced Sinopoli is the guy after blood from the victim’s panty hose and DNA samples from Sinopoli showed a one in 10 trillion match. He is being held on one count of criminal homicide at the Lancaster County Prison. A judge denied him bail.
Coming up tonight on CBS21 News at 5:30, we dig deeper into the technology used to crack this case.
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Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams announced Monday that police have made an arrest in the county's oldest cold case. David Sinopoli was arrested and charged on Sunday, July 17, for the 1975 murder of Lindy Sue Biechler.
Sinopoli is currently in custody at Lancaster County Prison being held without bail
On December 5, 1975, 19-year-old Biechler was found brutally stabbed in her home.
According to the affidavit, Biechler was found on the floor in the corner of the living room with a knife still inside the left side of her neck.
Following the autopsy, it was learned that Biechler was stabbed 19 times in her neck, chest, upper abdomen, and back. The cause of death was then labeled as massive bleeding from multiple stab wounds with the manner of death classified as a homicide.
The Manor Township Police Department received Biechler's clothing to be used as evidence in the crime, according to the affidavit. Samples collected off of the victim's undergarments were determined to contain a male suspect's DNA. Decades later, the Lancaster District Attorney's Office was able to upload collected DNA from the case into CODIS in February 2000.
In 2020, the DNA underwent genealogical lab analysis. Through these tests, David V. Sinopoli was identified as a suspect. It was later discovered by police that Sinopoli has resided in the same apartment complex as the victim at the time of the murder.
District Attorney Heather Adams said today in a press conference that without the genealogy evidence, she is unsure whether Sinopoli would have been identified.
Sinopoli, now 68-years-old, faces one charge of criminal homicide.