New DNA Testing Solves 1987 Davie Murder of Marilyn Decker

Cold Case Solved with DNA

• 💡 New DNA testing has solved the 1987 murder of Marilyn Decker, a case that had remained unsolved for nearly four decades.
• 🎯 Strands of hair found on Decker's shirt and a towel at the crime scene were crucial in identifying the killer.
• 📌 The suspect, identified as Donald Lawless, died in 1995 and was not previously on law enforcement's radar.

Investigation and Identification

• 🔬 The Davie Police Department's cold case unit reopened the investigation in 2021, conducting interviews and re-processing evidence.
• 🧬 By creating a genetic tree and profile, investigators identified a possible suspect, and later confirmed it was Lawless through DNA analysis of living family members.
• ⚠️ Lawless had a criminal history dating back to the 1940s and was in his 60s when he murdered Decker.

Potential Serial Offender

• 🔍 Police are investigating the possibility that Lawless was a serial killer, noting similarities to other unsolved cases in the Broward County area.
• 🤝 Davie police are collaborating with other agencies in Florida and across the country where Lawless lived to determine if he can be linked to additional murders.

Family's Pursuit of Justice

• 💔 Marilyn Decker's parents passed away before her case was solved, and her sister, Gail Deore, expressed frustration that her sister's murderer, with a history of violence, went unpunished for so long.
• ✅ The resolution of the case brings a measure of closure to the family, though the perpetrator did not face justice in his lifetime.