Man pleads not guilty in decades old Pinellas County cold case murder
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The man arrested in a Pinellas County cold case has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.
Michael Lapniewski appeared in court Monday, following his arrest in February in the murder of Opal Weil, who was found beaten and choked to death in her home on 56th Avenue North in St. Petersburg on February 9, 1987.
Pictured: Michael Lapniewski
"I was elated when I found out that he was arrested," said Traci Crawford, Weil’s grandniece, who used to visit her great aunt three times a week. "I know the rest of my family was as well. There was a big cheer, but also it brought back memories of her murder all over again."
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The original case files show what happened after Weil’s death, and how, decades later, investigators used new DNA testing technology to locate a suspect.
Pictured: Opal Weil
According to the original case reports, Weil’s neighbor, Freida Giles, went to Weil’s house and found a removed window near the backdoor. She went inside and found Weil’s body, with blood around her head.
Family and friends told detectives that Weil was widowed and lived alone, down the street from her brother and sister-in-law. Other than family and her neighbor, Freida, Weil rarely had visitors.
Freida Giles told the responding officer, Deputy Rahrer, that she last saw Weil on a walk the evening before.
They later spoke on the phone, and Frieda told Weil she would come by in the morning to help with laundry. But, Weil wasn’t answering her phone at 7:45 a.m.
Investigators believed Weil was killed between 8 p.m. Feb. 8 and 7:30 a.m. Feb. 9.
Frieda Giles has since passed away, so investigators relied on the reports and evidence collected during the initial investigation.
Reports show Weil had bruising on her face, fingers and wrist, blood around her mouth, and ligature marks on her neck. Her cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma and strangulation.
Records show several clumps of hair that did not appear to belong to the victim were found near her body.
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Investigators noted several drawers were open and appeared to have been rummaged through. Three rings were missing, including Weil’s wedding ring and a watch.
Fingerprints were also collected at the crime scene, as well as a kitchen knife and another knife with "Old Hickory" engraved on the handle, and a clear plastic trouser belt near Weil’s feet.
With advancements in DNA technology, the cold case team turned their focus to the clumps of hair found near Weil’s body.
These hairs were "determined to be dissimilar to the hairs of the victim and could not be associated with the victim," according to reports.
In 2004, the hairs were determined to be from a male.
"She fought, and she fought to the very end, and she got a lot of DNA," said Crawford, referring to the hairs found at the scene.
In 2018, additional DNA profiles were processed and, three years later, a genealogy investigation was launched, identifying possible family members of the possible suspect.
The investigation led to three brothers, the first of which had DNA in the system and was ruled out. The second was deceased and officers believed he was not the suspect.
The third brother, Michael Lapniewski, Jr., was 19 at the time of Weil’s murder and lived less than half a mile away.
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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office found Lapniewski, now 55, living in Mississippi and asked local law enforcement to help get a matching DNA sample.
According to the arrest affidavit, a detective in Mississippi got creative to collect a DNA sample from Lapniewski. The detective also owns a restaurant frequented by the suspect.
According to the affidavit, a flyer for a free meal at the restaurant was placed on Lapniewski’s car. Investigators wrote Lapniewski ate at the restaurant and, after he was finished, his fork and spoon were collected as evidence.
The DNA from the utensils, along with several other discarded items containing Lapniewski’s DNA, were a match.
"I'm looking forward to him being sentenced and brought to justice," said Crawford, adding she remembers her great aunt like it was yesterday. "Having her gone was just a huge tear in our family fabric…I miss her to this day. It seems like just yesterday that she was here, and now she's gone."
Lapniewski denied ever knowing Weil, according to investigators.
At the time of Weil’s death, Pinellas County investigators believed her murderer killed again, days after her death. An 84-year-old Seminole woman was found suffocated to death in her home. The killer in both cases entered the houses the same way and stole wedding rings.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on either investigation Monday.