After decades of silence, a horrific period in history was finally brought to light by the long-unsolved case of a 9-year-old boy from Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania State Police recently announced that they had identified the person responsible for the tragically early death of Marise Chiverella on March 18, 1964. The young girl’s lifeless body was found in a hole that had been abandoned for more than 60 years close to the Hazleton Municipal Airport.
When authorities were able to obtain the offender’s DNA profile from the fluid that was left on the victim’s clothing, the case made progress in 2007.
In a historic press conference, the Pennsylvania State Police named James Paul Forte, who passed away in 1980, as the murderer responsible for this terrible crime, according to a report from CNN.
In order to emphasize the importance of this achievement, Lieutenant Devon Brutosky of the Pennsylvania State Police said, “For more than half of our existence since the establishment of the Pennsylvania State Police in 1905, we have relentlessly pursued justice in this case. ”.
The police’s perseverance and tenacity in cracking this cold case show their unwavering dedication to providing closure to the victims and their families.
PEOPLE was able to obtain an official press release that stated Marise Chiverella left her Hazleton home at 8 a.m. on that fateful day and never returned.
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a school to attend.
At 1:00 p.m., the stripper hole contained the body of the deceased woman. m. authorities swiftly came to the conclusion that she had been the victim of both physical and sexual assault.
According to the police news release, the disturbing details of the investigation show the terrible fate that befell young Marise, whose life was cruelly taken from her and who had her body dumped alongside her belongings.
The investigation reached a turning point when the case’s breakthrough occurred in 2007. By examining the fluid found on the victim’s clothing, investigators could use modern DNA testing to pinpoint the murderer.
This scientific breakthrough marked a significant advancement in Marise Chiverella’s fight for justice. Following that, the police painstakingly cross-referenced the murderer’s DNA profile with the entries in the DNA database every month, providing a ray of hope that justice would be served one day.
The DNA profile was included in the GED Match genealogy database, according to a 2019 report by CNN’s Brutosky. Surprisingly, a distant relative of Chiverella turned up as a genealogical match, promising a breakthrough in the investigation. With the aid of renowned genealogist Eric Schubert, the study gained momentum in 2020.
According to a press release from the police, “Mr. Schubert set out on a laborious journey through our genealogical match’s family tree, discovering a network of relatives dispersed across the nation. ”.
The related family joined forces with the researchers after this discovery and provided crucial DNA samples for the investigation.
James Paul Forte, who was 22 at the time of the murder, may have been Chiverella’s sixth cousin after the facts and family connections were put together. The information shocked the family as well as the entire neighborhood.
Marise’s sister, Carmen Marie Radtke, expressed satisfaction and a sense of justice being served, noting, “Our family finally has the answers we have long sought. Today, justice has won, giving us the sense of closure we’ve been looking for for years. ”.
A gruesome chapter in the history of Hazleton is put to rest with the discovery of James Paul Forte as Marise Chiverella’s killer. It is a testament to the Pennsylvania State Police’s tireless efforts and unwavering commitment to cracking the toughest cold cases.
We hope that this resolution brings the family closure and serves as a reminder that justice can prevail no matter how long it takes as the neighborhood recovers from this terrible tragedy.
