On 18 March 1964, 9-year-old Marise Ann Chiverella was abducted while walking to school in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Her body was discovered hours later, showing evidence of sexual assault and strangulation.
Despite a thorough investigation, the case remained unsolved for decades. However, in 2022, university student Eric Schubert, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police, solved the mystery using genetic genealogy to analyse DNA preserved from the crime scene.
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After 18 months of research and constructing 50 family trees, Schubert identified James Paul Forte as the perpetrator. Forte, a Hazleton resident with a past of sexual abuse, was 22 at the time of the crime. He passed away in 1980, aged 38, from a heart attack while working in a local bar. DNA testing of his exhumed remains confirmed a match with the evidence, officially solving the nearly 58-year-old case.
