Dan Coyle is pinning his hopes on advances in technology and DNA testing to help solve the murder of his mother, Stephanie, who was brutally stabbed 31 years ago this week at her home in Arnold.

“For years, we were begging the Westmoreland County DA’s office to send the DNA to get the genealogical testing done. They finally did it about 21⁄2 years ago but we’ve heard nothing,” said Coyle, who, at 77, is three years older than his mother when she was sexually assaulted and stabbed July 16, 1993.

Her body was discovered by the landlord in her apartment behind Fourth Avenue. Police at that time said her throat was cut and a design was carved into her back.

“Cyril Wecht told me it was one of the most brutal murders he’d seen,” Coyle said. “He couldn’t believe that in such a small town, where everyone knows everyone, that it wasn’t solved quickly.”

Coyle said time has lessened the pain but not his drive to know what happened.

“I not only want to know who, but why,” said Coyle of Buffalo Township.

In the decades since the Stephanie Coyle case ran cold, advances in DNA and forensic technology, such as genetic genealogy and familial DNA, have helped police identify suspects in many cold cases.

Offenders of certain crimes are required to submit their DNA into a national database, which can aid in solving crimes.

Last week, District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced the hiring of Texas-based Othram Inc. to evaluate and study DNA samples in older cases where investigations have stalled.

The hope is results will help formulate new leads or identify suspects in violent crime cold cases.

“We are always looking at every avenue to develop leads and bring perpetrators to justice,” Ziccarelli said. “I cannot imagine the relief and reassurance this could bring a victim or family if it leads to a resolution and justice.”

Othram will be paid through a $50,000 state grant to review evidence in as many as 10 violent crimes that remain unsolved.

Coyle’s case, however, will not be among them, according to Melanie Jones, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office.

The DA’s office, within the past three years, sent Coyle’s DNA to another lab, and detectives are following up on those results, Jones said.

“We are still actively investigating the case,” she said.

The news doesn’t sit well with Dan Coyle.

“We met with the DA and detectives two and a half years ago, and it was a good meeting,” he said. “But there’s been nothing since.

“They said they have several names they’re following up on, but there’s still no results.”

Detective John Clark, head of the investigation, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ziccarelli said every case her office investigates and prosecutes is a priority.

“As the district attorney, I want to devote whatever resources necessary to bring a resolution to a case, no matter how long it takes,” she said.

Coyle in recent years has reached out to other local investigators and hired private detective Ken Mains, who has been featured on TV’s History Channel.

Mains produced a 70-page report naming three people he believes could be linked to the killing.

Ziccarelli’s office has the findings.

In the meantime, Coyle continues to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

For years, he hung posters throughout his mother’s Arnold neighborhood but says he no longer bothers.

“It doesn’t mean we’ve given up,” he said. “I’m gonna keep it out there by talking about it so people don’t forget.

“I know my mother would say for us to keep on living and, sure, it’s a little easier to deal with after all this time,” he said. “But sometimes the memories pop right out.”

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