With tenacious retired detectives and advances in photo-recognition technology, Suffolk County police officers helped them get arrested 21 years ago for the brutal cold case murder of their beloved 88-year-old widow, prosecutors announced Friday. .
Raul Ayala, 51, was charged with the murder of then-Edna Schubert, according to Suffolk County District Attorney.
“The face is clearly visible in herringbone pattern so that the impression of the shoe prints is clearly visible on Schubert's neck,” said Eric Abradfia, an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, who said the 93-pound woman's cause of death was “blunt.” “It's trauma.”
“The autopsy later revealed that Schubert maintained extensive facial fractures and fractures to the sternum, ribs, thyroid bones and thyroid cartilage. She also maintained the laceration. [her] Subartificial artery. ”
Ayala was arrested on January 16th when he lived in Tarmo, Georgia.
During the arrests stuffed on Friday afternoon when the suspect was taken into custody, lawyer Christopher Gio said Deaf people needed a sign language interpreter.
The 29-year-old Ayala lived just 200 yards from Schubert, just around the corner from her home, and was thought to be unemployed at the time.
Tierney presents a picture of Schubert's house broken through the window, leaving her front door wide open years ago.
Da, who? Posted on x He said this was “one of the cruelest cold cases in Suffolk County,” but he said there was no evidence of the relationship between the two.
Abouladfia said the case had a “breakthrough” in 2023 at the hands of former Suffolk murder detective Pasquale Albergo.
Eventually, the detective finds Ayala's fingerprints in the house by taking new photos of the outdated crime scene photos.
The new images, analyzed using the latest technology, confirmed that the summ print on the left of Ayaya was on the blinds of the broken window, prosecutors said.
Entering it into the database, it appears that the suspect had a DUI in Nassau County in 1995, with new evidence leading to blood tests in pantyhose and a white shirt left at home.
According to the DA's office, it contained Schubert's DNA and the DNA of the perpetrator, which was not known at the time.
Suffolk County investigators retrieved DNA from Ayala to test it against the blood in Schubert's clothing after a trip to Georgia.
“After monitoring the defendant for a while in Georgia, the defendant threw away multiple lottery scratch-off tickets and left a bottle containing one Gatorade bottle,” Abradfia said.
“The DNA from within the cap of that Gatorade bottle confirms that this defendant is responsible for its unknown DNA profile.”
However, Gioe maintains the innocence of its clients.
“I understand that the prosecution has a position regarding the strength of their cases, but all I have heard is fingerprints and DNA,” he said.
On Riverhead Court, Schubert's nephew stated that the whole situation was “surreal”, adding that her nie “we're happy they found him.”
Tierney also praised the victim and called her “next-grandma.”
“She retired from the Ministry of Automobiles. She was a widow and had no children herself, but she thought all the lucky children who could live in that neighborhood were her children. And she took care of those children.”
The investigation was handled by Suffolk's newly formed cold case team. This was responsible for the arrest of Gilgo Beach Killer, suspected of Rex Human of Masapequa Park.
