Seminole County investigators have announced an arrest in a 33-year-old cold case.
Eveline Aguilar was found dead in 1986 in her Winter Park home. Daniel Lynn Emitt, 50, was arrested in Tennessee. He is charged with first-degree murder and burglary with assault and battery.
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Daniel Lynn Emitt. Photo courtesy Seminole County Sheriff's Office[/caption]
Investigators used a database to reanalyze sperm found at the scene and connected it to a DNA sample given by Emitt in another investigation.
"We found out that Daniel Emitt had become a suspect in a Melbourne crime, and during that process had submitted to DNA testing," Sheriff Dennis Lemma said. "Now his information was in the database and (the sample) came back to our partners with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as a match for him."
A hand print found on a windowsill at the scene also matched Emitt's.
This case is part of an effort by the sheriff office's newly established Cold Case Squad. The squad is made up of 10 retired detectives who work together with the office's full-time investigators.
Earlier this year, the squad resolved the 35-year-old cold case of Pamela Cahanes. They are currently working on five other cold cases. Lemma says his deputies are motivated to get closure for the victims' families.
"When it comes to these capital felonies, we never let go of what we have," he said. "I think that as we lay our heads on our pillows at night and dream about what would be a wonderful day and a successful day, finding closure for these victims is something we will always want."
Aguilar is survived by four sisters, three of whom watched the announcement on the Facebook live stream.