With the help of DNA and a student, police solve 1964 rape/murder of a girl
HAZLETON (Pa.) — Officials announced Thursday that DNA and a 20 year-old genealogist helped identify the suspect in the abduction, murder, and rape of a young girl. The case was based on a Pennsylvania coal town.
The body of the long-dead assailant was exhumed by the state police last month. His DNA matches the jacket of Marise Ann Chiverella (9 years old) who was being walked to school in Hazleton (about 80 miles north of Philadelphia) on March 18, 1964.
Her body was discovered in a nearby pit of waste coal that afternoon. Authorities claim she was raped, strangled, and that James Paul Forte was her killer. Forte was a bartender who had a history of violent sexual assaults, and who died in natural causes in 1980 at the age of 38. Forte, 22 years old at the time, was not known to have any connection to the victim or her family, according police.
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Marise’s killer was pursued by generations of state police officers. More than 230 of them were involved in the investigation at one point or another. But Forte’s name didn’t come up until 2020. Eric Schubert, a college student who is an expert in genetic genealogy and had offered to help investigators, created a detailed family tree that helped narrow down their suspect list.
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The announcement was made by the state police at a press conference that included retired and current investigators, including the trooper who investigated Marise’s murder and the girl’s siblings and extended families.
Marise was a shy and sweet girl, her siblings said. She was learning to play the organ and wanted to become a nun.
Marise is a treasure trove of precious memories. Carmen Marie Radtke, her sister, said that Marise will be missed by her family. “We will continue asking ourselves what would have happened, what could have been.”
She claimed that their parents died not seeking revenge but justice.
She said, “Thanks to Pennsylvania State Police justice has been served today.”
Schubert is also to be credited.
Helps History student solve case
Schubert, a history major at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, and the proprietor of ES Genealogy was interested in the discipline from a young age. He had also helped other agencies solve cold cases by using genetic genealogy. This combines DNA testing with traditional genealogical research.
When he was searching for a new case, he came across Marise’s story and offered his services as a volunteer to the usually insular Pennsylvania State Police. He was delighted when they accepted his offer and spent the next two-years on the case, working alongside investigators. “This was the most difficult genealogy task I have ever had to do. He said that this was the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his entire life. “It means so much that I was able be part of the team that could offer answers to the Chiverella families.”
He said that he knew at one point that he was going to find the assailant.
Cpl. The lead investigator Mark Baron stated that it was the fourth oldest cold case in America to be solved by genetic genealogy and the oldest in Pennsylvania.
Baron choked up and spoke about Marise’s death, calling it a significant day for Marise’s family as well as for the community that has been haunted for years by her murder.
He said, “It’s an enduring memory for everyone who was affected by this, and for all those who grew up here.” “What happened to her brought about a shift in this community. You will never forget March 18, 1964 in Hazleton.
