Letter to the editor: Help solve Stephanie Coyle's murder

Thirty years ago July 16, our beloved mother, Stephanie Coyle, was found dead in her Arnold home, throat slashed, stab wounds in her back and neck area, sexually assaulted, and a carving of unknown meaning on her back. We are still waiting for justice for her.

Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli and her head detective, Ron Zona, met with us at our request in March 2022, giving us high hopes by telling us they would always be available to talk, promising to return our calls and saying they would work diligently to solve the case. Instead, they breached our trust and do not return calls.

We could understand keeping the investigation quiet when the murder happened; however, we no longer want to hear the poor excuse that they can’t comment on an active investigation, since this silence has gotten the case nowhere. While we are treated as though we are the guilty ones, our mom’s murderer walks free, enjoying life.

We had begged investigators for years to send DNA found at the crime scene for genealogical profiling, which was finally done more than a year ago, and still no results; yet we know hundreds of cold cases have been solved in a timely manner using this method. What are the results of this profiling, and why the delay in following up on them ?

Please, it is not too late to come forward to help solve this murder. Contact us if you have any information that can lead to our mom getting the justice she deserves for the torture and atrocities she suffered.

Dan and Barbara Coyle

Freeport