Pennsylvania troopers dedicated 44 years to 'Beth Doe' case

Apr. 15—The willingness to bring justice and closure unsettles the dust on a cold case file.

It compels Pennsylvania State Police, said Trooper Anthony Petroski, public information officer at Troop N Hazleton.

Troopers and the Carbon County District Attorney's Office gathered Wednesday at Lehighton Borough Park for a news conference to address such a situation — an arrest in the 1976 cold case murder of a pregnant teenager known for 44 years only as Beth Doe.

A desire to solve the case motivated more than 100 troopers since 1976 toward learning Beth Doe was actually 15-year-old Evelyn Colon. That March discovery also led troopers to identify her alleged killer.

From the first investigator, Trooper Frank Grippi, who preserved evidence; to now retired Cpls. Thomas McAndrew and Shawn Williams, who worked with DNA in the early 2000s; to present-day Troopers Gabrielle Van Wie and Brian Noll, who made the arrest — each played a part, said Lt. Devon Brutosky, Troop N criminal investigation section commander, who also worked the case.

"We're elated that we can bring this to a conclusion," Brutosky said.

Colon was close to giving birth to her daughter when she was strangled to death, shot in the neck, dismembered and stuffed into suitcases that were tossed off an Interstate 80 overpass bridge in East Side borough. The remains were found on Dec. 20, 1976, by teenagers at the site, just outside of White Haven borough in Luzerne County near the banks of the Lehigh River.

She remained nameless until March, when a critical piece of the cold case puzzle surfaced through DNA technology. A subsequent interview between troopers and Colon's one-time boyfriend, Luis Sierra, 63, of Ozone Park, New York, resulted in an arrest warrant for homicide being filed against him that day. Sierra worked as a bus driver in New York, troopers said.

He waived his right to an extradition hearing in New York on Tuesday and was taken to Carbon County Correctional Facility, Nesquehoning, without bail. A tentative preliminary hearing awaits April 28.

Carbon County District Attorney Michael Greek commended the troopers, present and past, who worked on the "tragic and long-standing mystery."

Fielding questions from the media, Greek said his office and troopers are evaluating what, if any, other charges would apply to the case, based on laws from 1976, which are different than today, such as the death penalty and if the baby's death would qualify as a second homicide.

Police declined to release new details on the case, such as where they believe Colon was murdered and Sierra's criminal record, saying the case isn't fully closed until the prosecution is complete.

"One important fact to remember is that this investigation is still ongoing," Petroski said.

Troopers are asking the public to step forward with "peripheral" information about the case. Call 800-4PA-TIPS (800-472-8477) and reference media release No. 1956.

The investigation

"None of us were alive when this happened, but we're still willing to move forward," Brutosky said, pointing to the team of present-day investigators who worked on the case.

Brutosky said the arrest wouldn't be accomplished without assistance over the years from the district attorney's office, Carbon County Coroner's Office, DNA Labs International of Florida, Othram Inc. of Texas, University of North Texas and NamUS, Dr. Janna Andronowski, New York City police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Brutosky reviewed details of the investigative process. It started with detailed notes and evidence collected in 1976, the latter of which was preserved and then tested over the years.

That information was entered into the National Crime Information Center database and Federal Bureau of Investigation national DNA database Combined DNA Index System.

Troopers kept up with new technology and, in 2007, McAndrew and Williams sought help from the FBI. A 2007 exhumation of the remains culled DNA that was submitted for a profile in November of that year before troopers would act as her pallbearers during a funeral service when Colon was reinterred in Carbon County.

The University of Texas developed a DNA profile and submitted it to CODIS in 2011, and information was sent to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. An isotope analysis to determine where Beth Doe came from based on minerals found in her remains was done by the University of South Florida.

Othram, a laboratory in Texas, enhanced the DNA profile of Beth Doe in early 2021 and in March found a match with Colon's nephew, Luis Colon Jr. He referred troopers to his father, Luis Colon Sr., who coincidentally was living close by in Stroudsburg, while his sister was in the Wilkes-Barre area.

"As you can see, the Pennsylvania State police has never stopped working on this case as we do with all our cases. Each victim does matter to us," said Brutosky, who added that he's ready to see the troop move onto other cold cases.

Interviews ensued, evidence was reviewed and troopers found a connection to Sierra, Brutosky said.

"He (Sierra) was the last person to have been with Evelyn as they were living together in an apartment in Jersey City in 1976," said Brutosky.

Trooper Noll, one of the officers who interviewed Sierra on March 31, remembers the Friday in late March when they got the call about the DNA match.

They were so much closer than they were before. It was the break they had sought for decades in the ghastly case.

Noll has seen gruesome tragedy in his career before, but "this is probably about as bad as it can get," he said.

Contact the writer: achristman@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3584