NZ- Alicia O'Reilly, 6, raped/murdered in her own bed, Avondale, 16 Aug.1980 *Breakthrough info.*

[dotr]

Stuff.co.nz
‘Breakthrough’ in case of 1980 murder of Auckland girl
''Police say they have made a "breakthrough" in the cold case of six-year-old Auckland girl Alicia O'Reilly.
New information into Alicia's 1980 rape and murder is set to be revealed in Cold Case on TVNZ 1 tonight.

Alicia was found murdered in her bed at her family's home on Canal Rd, Avondale, on August 16, 1980.

The investigation into her murder has remained open and unsolved ever since, with Auckland City Criminal Investigation Branch beginning a review of the file in the middle of last year.

Contained in the file is more than 40 years of information.

Alicia's case had been subject to a lengthy investigation at the time of her death and there have been subsequent reviews.''

''Cold Case airs on TVNZ 1 at 8.30pm or can be watched on TVNZ OnDemand.''

 

[dotr]

by Mina Kerr-Lazenby Nov 23 2021
New DNA evidence reinvigorates investigation into unsolved murder of Auckland's Alicia O'Reilly
rbbm.
''Police say the murder of rape and murder of 6-year-old Alicia O’Reilly is imminently solvable as new DNA discoveries reinvigorated the investigation more than 40 years later.''
''Police said the new information gives them confidence in solving the case and are now investigating hundreds of potential suspects in search of a DNA match.

Officials believed important evidence like hair and semen left by the killer were destroyed during the original investigation.''

''Swabs have since been discovered in an envelope in the bottom of a cardboard box in police archives. More samples were found in storage rooms at Auckland DHB pathology department including glass slides preserving samples from the post-mortem examination.

Police now have a list of 800 suspects, with more than 140 persons of interest ruled out so far after giving voluntary DNA samples.

A 23-year-old man who lived near Alicia's home on Canal Rd has now been eliminated as the prime suspect from the original inquiry.''

 

[CastlesBurning]

Police investigating 1980 murder of Alicia O’Reilly to trial DNA tool used by FBI

The decision to use the controversial DNA technique in the cold case investigation came soon after Nancye O’Reilly went public with her frustration at the 18-month delay by Police National Headquarters.

A spokesperson confirmed that New Zealand Police had approved the use of genetic genealogy testing, but the “next steps” were still being worked out.

“Police have carried out a thorough process to date to carry out due diligence on security, privacy, legal and ethical implications from this tool.

“Relevant considerations have since been through a governance process and it has been agreed this will now move to the next phase.

“Police are continuing to work through the next phases including work with external stakeholders. We will be in a position to comment further around next steps in due course.”

 

[DeDee]

Police investigating 1980 murder of Alicia O’Reilly to trial DNA tool used by FBI

The decision to use the controversial DNA technique in the cold case investigation came soon after Nancye O’Reilly went public with her frustration at the 18-month delay by Police National Headquarters.

A spokesperson confirmed that New Zealand Police had approved the use of genetic genealogy testing, but the “next steps” were still being worked out.

“Police have carried out a thorough process to date to carry out due diligence on security, privacy, legal and ethical implications from this tool.

“Relevant considerations have since been through a governance process and it has been agreed this will now move to the next phase.

“Police are continuing to work through the next phases including work with external stakeholders. We will be in a position to comment further around next steps in due course.”

Detectives investigating the unsolved murder of Alicia O’Reilly wanted to try genetic genealogy testing to identify her killer, which has never been done before in New Zealand.

After an 18-month wait for expert advice to navigate the complex privacy and legal considerations, the Weekend Herald can reveal that Operation Sturbridge has now been granted permission to try the novel technique.

Such good news!

 

[dotr]

15 Aug, 2025

'May provide new leads': New DNA tech could solve cold case child rape and murder

The rape and murder of Alicia O'Reilly, 6, in her own bed 45 years ago remains unsolved.

www.nzherald.co.nz

rbbm. Aug. 2025

New DNA tech used to re-examine cold-case murder of 6yo, 45 years on

Alicia O’Reilly was found raped and murdered in her bed on the morning of August 16, 1980, just metres away from where her 8-year-old sister Juliet was sleeping at their Auckland home.

www.1news.co.nz

''Police reopened the case in 2020 as part of an operation called Operation Sturbridge.
This morning, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said a DNA sample had been obtained and hoped it could provide new leads.
Beard said police were using a new genetic investigative tool called Investigative Genetic Genealogy, which has been under trial in recent years.''

''Alicia's death was the subject of a 2021 episode of Cold Case, which can be watched on TVNZ+.
When the episode was released, police said there had been a "genuine breakthrough" after detectives found a vaginal swab and slides made at the time of Alicia's post-mortem.
Police said there was a full DNA profile of Alicia's killer, but it matched nobody in the national DNA database.''