Broward Sheriff's Office links death row inmate to 1998 unsolved murder of Eileen Truppner
FORT LAUDERDALE -- The Broward County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday said it has identified a suspect in connection with the sexual assault and murder 25 years ago of a woman whose unsolved murder case had sat dormant for over two decades.
Sheriff Gregory Tony said during a morning news conference that the woman formerly known as Jane Doe has been identified as Eileen Truppner.
"She is no longer faceless," he said. "She is no longer nameless."
Investigators identified suspected serial killer Lucious Boyd, who is currently on Florida's death row for another homicide, as the person who murdered Truppner.
A grand jury indicted Boyd for Truppner's murder on Nov. 29, officials said.
He now faces an additional first-degree murder charge as well as sexual battery charges, according to the sheriff's office.
"He's a predator," said Detective Zack Scott, adding that Boyd declined to speak about Truppner's case when the two met for a prison interview. He said the suspect preyed on women who were in vulnerable situations. "He sees his opportunity."
Truppner's body was discovered by a boater in December 1998 in a grassy area off of U.S. 27. For years, she was known only as Jane Doe before detectives were able to identify her through DNA and detective work.
Truppner, a native of Puerto Rico, moved to South Florida to take English classes and had two children, according to her relatives.
"My sister was very kind," her sister Nancy said Tuesday during the news conference. "She had a good heart. She would never hurt anybody."
Tony said detectives were able to link Boyd to Truppner's death via genealogy and DNA collected from the suspect for another slaying.
Boyd is on Florida's death row in connection with another slaying from 1998, that of Dawnia Dacosta.
The 21-year-old nursing student disappeared on Dec. 5 as she walked along Interstate 95 to get fuel for her stalled vehicle.
Her body was found two days later in a sheet and investigators said she had been sexually abused before she was slain.
Boyd was later charged with murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the case, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Boyd is the son of a local of funeral home director and was arrested for Dacosta's murder in the parking lot of James C. Boyd Funeral Home, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Investigators said Tuesday that they suspect Boyd for several other slayings.
