Crime & Safety
Father Accused Of Shaking, Killing Baby In 1984 In Manassas: Police
A man has been charged with murder after authorities reopened an investigation into the 1984 death of his 3-month-old son, authorities said.
MANASSAS, VA — A man has been charged in connection with the 1984 shaking death of his 3-month-old son, the Prince William County Police Department said Thursday.
Authorities reopened the investigation after police officers obtained more information during a traffic stop in 2021.
The police department identified the accused as 58-year-old Samuel Harry Dicola. He was charged Wednesday with one count of murder. His court date is scheduled for April 11, and he is being held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford County on unrelated charges.
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If convicted, Dicola could face up to 40 years in prison, based on Virginia's sentencing guidelines.
The police department did not identify the victim by name due to a Virginia law that protects the identities of minors. Investigators said the child was Dicola's son.
Find out what's happening in Manassasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
On Nov. 29, 1984, the baby started having breathing problems at the family's home in the 9600 block of Lafayette Avenue in Manassas. Dicola took the boy to an area hospital for treatment, according to the police department.
Doctors recommended the boy be transferred to the National Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. The child died in D.C. a few days later while receiving treatment, authorities said.
A December 1984 autopsy reported that the boy died of a swollen brain and severe retinal hemorrhaging, a type of bleeding in the eye. The autopsy indicated that the child's injuries occurred when someone severely shook him.
In 1984, the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy said the cause of death was "undetermined." Prince William County's prosecutor at the time declined to pursue criminal charges against Dicola.
In September 2021, police officers stopped Dicola in Maryland for an unrelated matter. "Additional information was obtained that prompted a reexamination of the case," the police department said in a news release.
The medical examiner in Washington, D.C., reclassified the child's death as a homicide after a review of the investigation.
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