PA - Rose Hnath, 78, murdered at home in North Whitehall Twp. 21 Jan 1989, Michael Breisch, now 65, arrested May 2024

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Man charged in 1989 cold case murder of woman, 78, in the Lehigh Valley

More than 30 years after an elderly woman was stabbed to death inside her Lehigh Valley home, an arrest has been made in her murder.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced homicide and burglary charges against Michael Breisch, now 65, in the 1989 murder of 78-year-old Rose Hnath.

The murder of Rose Hnath ​

At the time of her murder, Hnath was a widow who lived alone in her home along the 2600 block of 2nd Street in the Coplay section of North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, along the banks of the Lehigh River.

After she never appeared at a church she normally attended, family members went to her home the night of Jan. 21, 1989, and found her body. Her home had also been ransacked.

Investigators said Hnath died of multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Arrest made in brutal 1989 killing of Lehigh County woman

A man is behind bars, accused of brutally stabbing and beating to death a 78-year-old woman in 1989.

www.wfmz.com

Holihan says investigators found DNA evidence on the weapons used in the crime, they just didn't have the technology to find it in 1989.

"There was a knife that was used, there was a pellet gun that was used. Those things, and the remarkable thing about it is that there was no concept of being able to utilize touch DNA at the time, and yet they were preserved," Holihan said.

He said there is obvious evidence that Hnath fought back against her attacker, and that is part of the reason why there was evidence that could be preserved.

Breisch, of Wind Gap, was arrested this week in Ohio and has since been extradited to Pennsylvania, the DA said. He had been living in Pennsylvania until recently moving to Ohio.

He is now behind bars in Lehigh County without bail, Holihan said.

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There's no previous thread for Rose. Now she has one, and hopefully she'll have justice as well.

 

[ifindedout]

Suspect charged in 1989 Lehigh County homicide transported back to Pa.

He's accused of beating and stabbing to death 78-year-old Rose Hnath inside her North Whitehall Township home in 1989.

www.wfmz.com

N. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. - The suspect charged in a 35-year-old homicide case in Lehigh County is now in local custody.

The district attorney's office says 65-year-old Michael Breisch is now in the Lehigh County Jail.

 

[dotr]

• 6 hrs ago
• Opening arguments set for decades-old homicide cold case in Lehigh County
• ''N. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. - Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday in the trial for a Lehigh County murder case that haunted investigators for decades.''

''Prosecutors say Breisch's DNA was found on the murder weapon, but he maintains it isn't his and that he's innocent.''

• Oct 6, 2025
• Jury selection begins in trial of man accused of killing North Whitehall woman in 1989
• ''The focus of this case will be on the science of justice. The DA says Breisch's DNA was found on the murder weapon. Breisch says it's not his DNA and he didn't do it.It was a crime that shocked the Lehigh Valley. In January 1989, Hnath had just gotten over being burglarized the day after Christmas.''
• "I mean you could see where she was being chased," said William Unangst.
  "I just remember blood was everywhere, bloody handprints everywhere."
  Investigators say Rose fought for her life as she was stabbed 28 times, and bludgeoned.'
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• May 16, 2024
  Authorities say they were able to get a match on DNA collected more than three decades ago.