More than 30 years after an elderly woman was stabbed to death inside her Lehigh Valley home, an arrest has been made in her murder.
On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced murder and robbery charges against Michael Breisch, now 65, in the 1989 murder of 78-year-old Rose Hnath.
The murder of Rose Hnath
At the time of her murder, Hnath was a widow living alone in her home along the 2600 block of 2nd Street in the Coplay neighborhood of North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, along the banks of the Lehigh River.
When she never showed up at the church she normally attended, family members went to her home on the night of January 21, 1989, and found her body. Her house was also ransacked.
Investigators said Hnath died from multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma. His death was ruled a homicide.
Holihan said Hnath fought back during the attack.
“It was clear from the beginning that she had defensive wounds, which indicates that she resisted,” Holihan said.
At the time, a knife and a pellet gun were found at the scene of the crime and across the street from the house. The items were preserved for decades as authorities continued to investigate the murder.
DNA technology leads to cracking of cold case
Hnath’s death remained unsolved for years, until technological advances led to the break in the case. Investigators used DNA evidence to identify Breisch as the suspect, authorities said.
“Ultimately, the efforts taken to preserve the evidence were rewarded when investigative techniques unavailable in the 20th century helped lead us to the defendant, Michael Breisch, and allowed us to make this arrest in 2024,” said a spokesperson. voice of the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office. he wrote.
At the time of Hnath’s murder, Breisch was living in a community corrections center in Allentown. Holihan said Breisch robbed Hnath’s home on the day of his murder. Hnath’s home was also robbed before his death, although Breisch was not linked to the earlier robbery, according to Holihan.
After Breisch was identified as a murder suspect, he was arrested in Ohio, where he briefly lived after spending several years in Pennsylvania, authorities said. Breisch was then extradited to Pennsylvania.
He is being held without bond in the Lehigh County Jail on charges of criminal homicide, robbery, robbery and other related crimes. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 21, 2024.
Pennsylvania State Troopers Jared Christman and Zachary McCornac, as well as Lehigh County Detectives Robert Egan and Joseph Vazquez, were all involved in the investigation.
The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force and law enforcement officials in Coshocton County, Ohio, also assisted in Breisch’s arrest and extradition, according to Holihan.
Holihan also said investigators spoke with Hnath’s family members about the arrest.
“They are pleased and relieved that an arrest has been made,” he said.
Holihan said there is no indication that Breisch knew Hnath at the time of the murder. Investigators also believe Breisch acted alone and are not looking for anyone else in connection with Hnath’s death.
Online court records do not list any legal representation for Breisch.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
