Partnership between DA, investigators pushes to resolve unsolved major crimes in Erie area

Advancements in DNA technology and a fresh look at evidence and information led to the arrest of suspects in two old death investigations in Erie over the past year.

But for Erie police Detective Sgt. Craig Stoker and Pennsylvania State Police Master Trooper Todd Giliberto, who worked together on the Helen Vogt and Lexie Castile homicides, those case clearances represented a small percentage of the workload that still sits in front of them.

Stoker, who was appointed in October to be the Erie Bureau of Police's designated cold case detective through a two-year state grant paying for the position, still has a few dozen open and unsolved homicide cases in the city dating back to 2000. And the pile of case folders will grow, as Stoker said he will soon identify and review unsolved cases in Erie dating back a few more decades.

Giliberto, the criminal investigation assessment officer for state police Troop E, which covers Erie and three neighboring counties, said he has 21 unsolved major cases before him dating back to the early 1960s.

Stoker and Giliberto are working together on many of these cases through a renewed effort by Erie police and the Erie County District Attorney's Office to clear some of these "cold cases" and to bring closure to the victims' loved ones.

"I think it's important. My whole career has been dedicated to championing victims," said District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz, whose past work has included prosecuting child abuse and domestic assault cases. "I strongly believe this is another avenue to take to help those individuals who have long awaited justice."

The District Attorney's Office is partnering with Stoker and Giliberto in their work at reviewing and re-investigating unsolved major crimes and using a fresh perspective and advances in technology including DNA testing in an effort to finally solve them. Hirz said she and First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Reger are involved in the majority of the cold cases being worked by the investigators, but others in her office may become involved if a case has connections to a staffer's assigned area, such as sexual assaults, or if a staffer had been involved in the case in the past.

It's not new work. Previous district attorneys in Erie County, including the late Brad Foulk and Jack Daneri, put an emphasis on solving cold cases during their times in office.

What's different this time, according to Hirz, is that having Stoker and Giliberto assigned by their departments to focus on these old cases is making a tremendous difference in providing the time and resources needed to work them.

"In the past, everyone who has touched (the cases) tried to do their best, but they got other homicides, major cases they had to attend to. These guys can attest to the amount of time and detail and work that goes into these investigations. To have a caseload on top of that, you can't do it," she said.

A fresh set of eyes

The cases that sit before Stoker and Giliberto have been worked by a number of investigators over the years, and have also been reviewed by other cold case investigators in the past, Hirz said. She and the investigators said taking a new look at these cases might reveal bits of information that perhaps were not focused on in the past.

"There may be a case that happened two days ago, and we're not looking at little nuances. We might have other evidence. But now we're looking at things a different way, and things we may not have looked at right away when we first started investigating becomes a huge factor because we are now trying to connect different dots," Hirz said.

That's particularly true in cases where there might not have been witnesses, which makes investigators more keen to other facts, she said.

"So you have to be more creative, I think. We've got to scrutinize things in a different manner because we don't have the advantage of an eyewitness. It forces us to look at it in a whole different way that we may not if it is a recent case," Hirz said.

Giliberto said it also helps to partner with Stoker in reviewing cases, as Stoker brings a fresh set of eyes to state police cases while he brings a fresh look to Erie police cases.

"That's in any case. Someone sees a different perspective, and being able to collaborate between the two of us, ideas, ideas for interviewing, where to move forward, is just huge," he said.

Advances in technology, primarily in DNA testing and genealogy, are also playing a big role in advancing older unsolved cases, according to Stoker and Giliberto.

"There's all kinds of technology that's better out there. We just have to review the case and see what's out there to solve those cases and what new technology can be used," Stoker said.

A growing recognition of cold cases across the country and a growing willingness to share information among various law enforcement agencies is additionally aiding investigators in their work, Hirz said.

"These guys are really good at reaching out and asking for help and suggestions, and we have wonderful people who are willing to help us out," she said. "Everyone is on the same team with these cases, and that really helps tremendously."

Early successes

Three months before Stoker was officially appointed at the Erie Bureau of Police's cold case investigator, he and Giliberto joined Hirz in announcing in July 2022 that they had charged Texas resident Jeremy C. Brock in the 1988 slaying of his grandmother, 76-year-old Helen Vogt, in Erie.

Hirz said advancements in DNA technology identified Brock as a suspect in Vogt's slaying, as well as the work of earlier investigators and prosecutors.

New analysis of evidence connected Brock's DNA with DNA found on a bloody washcloth in Vogt's shower, as well as blood samples taken from Vogt's kitchen, Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said when authorities announced the filing of charges against Brock.

Brock, 56, is awaiting trial on criminal homicide and other charges.

More: Cold case resolved as grandson charged in 34-year-old murder of Erie's Helen Vogt

Stoker and Giliberto filed charges in their second cold case investigation earlier this month, charging 35-year-old Washington resident Anthony D'Onofrio with criminal homicide and other offenses in the Sept. 16, 2012, fatal shooting of his fiancée, 20-year-old Lexie Castile, in Erie. The charges were filed after the investigators went over evidence collected in the case, gathered new witness information and reviewed the case with Erie County forensic pathologist Eric Vey, M.D., according to information outlined in D'Onofrio's criminal complaint.

D'Onofrio remains in custody in Washington, where he is fighting extradition, according to authorities.

More: Fiancé charged in 2012 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Erie woman at West 24th St. apartment

Other cases

One case that Stoker and Giliberto have been focusing on is the disappearance in June 2002 of 20-year-old Erie resident Sabrina Kahler. She traveled to western Erie County with an acquaintance to go swimming but never returned home, according to authorities.

Investigators said in late June that they were reassessing the case and were re-interviewing people and searching areas of possible interest. Earlier this year, Stoker and Giliberto presented the case to the Vidocq Society, a group of volunteer forensic experts and investigators who serve as confidential consultants to assist in solving difficult cases.

More: Police redouble efforts to solve Erie resident Sabrina Kahler's 21-year-old disappearance

Among the other cold cases for state police, according to Giliberto, are the December 1980 fatal shooting of Erie police Cpl. Robert Owen; the disappearance in December 1982 of Venango Township resident Barbara Shumac; and the fatal shooting in January 1982 of Crawford County resident Patricia Tyler in Girard.

The oldest unsolved major case in state police Troop E, according to Giliberto, is the fatal shooting in 1963 of Donald Perkins, who was working at a Harborcreek Township gas station off Interstate 90 when he was killed. The most recent is the death of Crawford County resident William Rossey, who disappeared in October 2005 and was found months later in French Creek, and whose death was ruled a homicide.

Stoker said Erie police have four open homicide cases in the city from 2000 to 2009, 17 from 2010 to 2019, and four since 2020. Those cases include the fatal shootings of 42-year-old Nelson Irizarry in April 2012, 20-year-old Travon D. Green in July 2014, Antonio "Jay" Yarger in September 2016 and 18-year-old Jose Rosario Jr. in October 2018; and the fatal stabbing of 34-year-old James Allen in April 2019.

Investigators said that although these cases may be referred to as cold cases, investigators have never stopped working them. Solving them could take something as small as a piece of information someone might have thought had no value and did not report. Investigators want to hear that information, Hirz said.

She noted that, in the Vogt and Castile homicide cases, people came forward with information that helped in those cases.

"So it might be a situation where someone has information about something but didn't think at the time that it was important. But there is nothing that is too minimal to call. We want to know as much information as we can and make the call. Just let us know," she said.

Hirz urged anyone with information or questions about any of the major unsolved cases to contact her office at 814-451-6349; Stoker at 814-870-1506 or cstoker@erie.pa.us; or Giliberto at 814-898-1641 or tgiliberto@pa.gov.

"We want people to understand we're working on all of them. They can call and talk to us," she said.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: DA, investigators team up to resolve cold cases in Erie region