A 42-Year-Old Homicide Cold Case Has Been Solved Using New DNA Technology, Man Arrested
Nearly 42 years after the death of Sandra DiFelice, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested a man in the case. In a statement released Monday, police said Nuttall, 64, was charged with “open murder” with the use of a deadly weapon, sexual assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary while carrying a deadly weapon. Typically, a person accused of murder in Nevada will be charged with “open murder,” which includes, “Murder in the First Degree and all necessary included offenses.” According to Clark County’s website, these include Murder in the Second Degree and perhaps Voluntary Manslaughter or Involuntary Manslaughter, depending on the facts of the case. Police have claimed that DiFelice was brutally raped and murdered in her home on December 26, 1980. A cold case detective at the police department responded to DiFelice’s daughter’s request for an update on the investigation in February 2021, when she was three years old and living with her grandparents. When detectives reviewed the investigation, they determined, in collaboration with our DNA forensics lab, that additional evidence could be submitted for processing using DNA technology after reviewing the investigation. The DNA recovered from under the fingernails of Sandra DiFelice led to the identification of Paul Nuttall as the suspect of her murder,” Lt. Jason Johansson stated at a news conference.
In the news conference, police said Nuttall had been named as a person of interest at the beginning of the investigation. A fingerprint was found in DiFelice’s home, but the fingerprint was determined to be from Nuttall’s roommate, which explained why it was there. Clark County Detention Center records indicate that Nuttall is currently in custody.