Tudor Chirila Jr., 77, was arrested on September 13, 2022 for the January 7, 1972 murder of 19-year-old Nancy Elaine Anderson in Honolulu, Hawaii. Anderson was stabbed dozens of times by an intruder to her apartment in Waikiki. She had about 63 separate wounds to her body. Anderson’s body was found by her roommate, who was asleep in the apartment at the time of the murder. Anderson had just recently graduated from high school in Michigan and moved to Honolulu to work at a local MacDonald’s.
Police found several bloody towels in her bathroom, as well as blood on her bed and on the floor near her body. Another bloody towel was found in the stairwell of her apartment complex.
The FGG investigation was performed by Paragon Nanolabs, beginning in the summer of 2020, in partnership with the Honolulu Police Department. Parabon also performed forensic phenotyping in this case. The initial confirmation was made to a DNA sample voluntarily provided to police by Chirila’s son. On September 1, 2022, a warrant was obtained for Chirila to provide a sample of his DNA.
Chirila was a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii at the time of Anderson’s murder. He would go on to become an attorney and ran a failed campaign to sit on the Nevada Supreme Court, where he was formerly a clerk. Chirila was arrested at his home in Reno, Nevada, and is awaiting extradition to Hawaii.
Chirila had no prior criminal record that would have required him to provide a DNA sample. He is reported to have operated a local brothel called the Mustang Ranch, and spent time in jail around 1992 for failure to pay child support. In 1995, he was acquitted of charges that he kidnapped a former girlfriend and beat and attempted to rape her.
Sources:
Boylan, Peter. “DNA Analysis Leads to Arrest in 1972 Waikiki Fatal Stabbing.” Star Advertiser, September 15, 2022. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.staradvertiser.com/2022/09/13/breaking-news/dna-analysis-leads-to-arrest-in-1972-waikiki-fatal-stabbing/.
Blanco, Andrea. “Nevada Man Arrested After Son’s DNA Links Him to 50-Year-Old Murder in Hawaii.” Independent, September 14, 2022. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/tudor-chirila-cold-murder-case-b2167517.html.
Keller, Aaron. “Former Chief Deputy Attorney General and Candidate for Nevada State Supreme Court Charged in 1972 Hawaii Cold Case Murder.” Law & Crime, September 16, 2022. Accessed September 25, 2022. https://lawandcrime.com/crime/former-chief-deputy-attorney-general-and-candidate-for-nevada-state-supreme-court-charged-in-1972-hawaii-cold-case-murder/.
Keller, Aaron. “Man Arrested After Son’s DNA Provides Link to 50-Year-Old Cold Case Murder in Hawaii.” Law & Crime, September 14, 2022. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://lawandcrime.com/crime/man-arrested-after-sons-dna-provides-link-to-50-year-old-cold-case-murder-in-hawaii/.
McAndrew, Siobhan. “Reno Lawyer Linked to Violent 1972 Murder of Hawaii Teen Arrested After DNA Match.” Reno Gazette Journal, September 15, 2022. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2022/09/15/reno-lawyer-tudor-chirila-arrested-1972-violent-stabbing-murder-honolulu-hawaii-teen-nancy-anderson/10374605002/.