Man Killed Pregnant Teenager In Cold Blood, Stashed Body And Fetus In Suitcases

Investigators claim they have solved a 44-year-old cold blooded murder case in eastern Pennsylvania after arresting a New York City man.

Authorities charged Luis Sierra, 63, of Ozone Park, New York, with homicide. He is being held in custody and will be extradited to Carbon County. Sierra's listed number could not be located Wednesday. Court records likewise do not name a defense attorney who could comment on the charge.

Associated Press reported several interviews and other police work over the years led to the conviction in the death of 15-year-old Evelyn Colon. Troopers investigated the human remains discovered by Kenneth Jumper Jr. on the bank of the Lehigh River in Carbon County, on Dec. 20, 1976.

Kenneth Jumper Jr., then 14 years, walked along the Lehigh River bank just outside of White Haven in Carbon County when he saw the cases. Investigators later on found a third suitcase containing the baby's remains.

Investigators said Evelyn's baby was stripped from her body after being raped, strangled, and shot in the neck. Her breasts, head, and nose were all gone.

Only interviews, fingerprints, and dental records were available to investigators in 1976 when they attempted to locate the deceased.

Evelyn's death has been deemed a homicide for years. Police asked for the public for years to help find the remains. Until the remains were identified 44 years later, the female victim was referred to as "Beth Doe." She was reburied in Laurytown Road Cemetery, near Weatherly, where she was first buried in 1983.

Authorities exhumed Evelyn's body for DNA testing in 2007 with the assistance of now-retired state police corporal Thomas McAndrew and his retired partner, Shawn Williams.

Although it's still unknown what prompted police to believe Sierra to be Evelyn's murderer, McAndrew said that technology like genealogy helps crack several cold cases around the globe. There isn't any money for it, and some states are trying to make it illegal for officers to do so.

The state police told Associated Press that additional details will be published "in the near future."

District Attorney Michael Greek also declined to comment on the case.

The district court in Weatherly, where the charges were filed, said no further details would be released before the arrest warrant was issued.