LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly 42 years after she was sexually assaulted and murdered in her Las Vegas home, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested the man suspected of killing Sandra DiFelice.
Homicide Lt. Jason Johansson announced the arrest of Paul Nuttall on Monday.
DiFelice was found "brutally" raped and murdered on Dec. 26, 1980 in her residence near 15th Street and Bonanza Road, Johansson said.
Investigators collected "numerous" items of evidence and even developed a person of interest in DiFelice's death, "but unfortunately none that resulted in the identification of the person responsible for the murder, or any charges being filed in this case," Johansson said.
In February of 2021, investigators in Metro's cold case unit received a call from DiFelice's daughter, who was 3 years old when her mother was killed. "Thankfully," Johansson said, DiFelice's daughter was staying with her grandparents the night of the murder.
She asked detectives for an update on the investigation. Upon review, they discovered that additional evidence in the case could be submitted for testing using new DNA technology, Johansson explained.
DNA recovered from underneath DiFelice's fingernails was linked to Nuttall, Johansson explained.
Nuttall was a person if interest in the initial investigation, he noted. That's because one of Nuttall's fingerprints was found inside DiFelice's home. Detectives investigating the case learned the fingerprint could be explained, however, because Nuttall was a friend of DiFelice's roommate, Johansson said. DiFelice may have known the man now suspected of killing her, or at least been acquainted with him, he added.
Once the DNA was confirmed to be Nuttall's detectives coordinated with the Clark County District Attorney's Office, which issued a warrant for Nuttall's arrest. He was taken into custody at his home in northwest Las Vegas with the help of Metro's Criminal Apprehension Team, Johansson said.
"After he was taken into custody, my cold case investigators had the pleasure of making the one phone call that every cold case detective wants to make," Johansson said. They were able to inform DiFelice's daughter the man suspected of murdering her mother was in custody.
Nuttall has lived the majority of his life since DiFelice's murder right here in the valley, Johansson said.
Johansson noted he hopes the arrest brings some sort of closure to DiFelice's family, and justice for DiFelice.
"I want to remind the community that this is a great example of the commitment that this department has toward working cold case investigations," Johansson added. Earlier this year, he says Metro invested in additional staffing for the cold case unit, including hiring a supervisor and three additional detectives.
