Can High Tech Solve 16-Year-Old Murder Case?

AVENTURA, FL — Two months before the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, it was the bludgeon murder of Irving Harold Earl Sicherer that shook the Waterview condominiums along East Country Club Drive.

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While 9-11 would change how Aventura police protect the city's 37,000 residents and view their role in domestic security, the Sicherer case has remained a nagging constant ever since.

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"This case has remained an active investigation since 2001 when the homicide occurred. This is the only unsolved murder in the history of the city of Aventura," conceded Maj. Michael Bentolila of the city's police department.

Aventura police recently turned to something straight out of science fiction to help identify the person of interest in what they believe was a crime of passion between the 76-year-old Sicherer and his unknown male assailant.

Called the Snapshot Forensic DNA Phenotyping System, the technology used a DNA sample collected from the 16-year-old crime scene to generate computer images of a possible person of interest.

The images have given Aventura police two new looks at a possible person of interest when he was 25 years of age — around the time of the murder — and two more looks now that he might be pushing 40.

"They reverse engineer the DNA in order to determine the traits that the DNA shows," explained Bentolila, who was a sergeant when Sicherer was killed.

That technology simply didn't exist in 2001.

Computer algorithms read tens of thousands of genetic variants, or genotypes within the DNA sample to predict the color of the person's eyes, hair, skin, degree of freckling and even the shape of the person's face. The technology also works in the case of mixed ethnic backgrounds.

The following video shows you how the technology works:

In the Sicherer case, police have "mounds" of evidence to include both fingerprint and DNA but have been unable to match that evidence to a person of interest. Police also have surveillance video of Sicherer with the person of interest at Publix two days before the murder and at his condominium building.

While video evidence might be enough to find a suspect today, "video surveillance cameras back in 2001 aren't as good as they are today," acknowledged Bentolila.

Based on the DNA sample, Aventura police now believe that the person of interest has a fair to very fair skin type, greenish blue eyes with brownish blond hair and very few freckles, if any. Moreover, they believe he has a northeastern European ancestry from a country like Poland or Hungary.

"All we need is one. All we need is one solid evidence lead to go by," added Detective Tom Mundy of the Aventura Police Department. "It’s finding one out of reviewing all this evidence."

Aventura police are hoping that the computer-generated drawings might be all someone needs to recognize the person of interest.

Here's two possible renderings of what the person of interest may have looked like in 2001:

Here's two possible renderings of what the person of interest might look like today:

"DNA is only able to determine best guess estimates," cautioned Bentolila. "If the person has their hair long, curly, straight — these are things DNA can’t identify. Also, if they are overweight or very skinny these are also things DNA can’t identify."

Aventura police believe their person of interest has an unusual way of walking. "He had a hunched over gait where he slouched when he walked," according to the major. "It could be something they are still doing today and it's something that would stick out if you saw it."

The same technology used in the Sicherer case was used successfully by the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina to help solve the then- three-year-old murders of Douglas "Troy" and LaDonna French in Reidsville, North Carolina, in 2015, according to the Reston, Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs Inc., which developed the technology with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Both Mundy and Bentolila said the Sicherer family is "ecstatic" over the possibility that this new technology may help authorities track down the person responsible for the murder of their loved one.

"We’ve kept in very close contact and kept briefing the family throughout the years," said Bentolila. "We will not rest — whether it takes 20 years, 30 years, 40 years — whatever it takes, until we find who’s responsible in order to bring closure to the family."

To report a tip, call the Aventura Police Department at 305-466-8999. To remain anonymous, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477) or 866-471-8477, visit crimestoppersmiami.com and select "Give a Tip" or text "CSMD" followed by the tip to 274637.

Maj. Michael Bontolila of the Aventura Police Department unveils a computer rendering of a person of interest that was generated solely by DNA. Photos by Paul Scicchitano. Renderings courtesy of Aventura Police Department.