Nebraska man, 62, is charged with sexually assaulting and murdering woman, 34, in 1981 in Colorado after investigators linked DNA from a Vanilla Coke can in his trash to the crime scene

 DNA recovered from a can of Vanilla Coke has been used track down an alleged murder suspect 40 years later.

Sylvia Quayle, 34, from Cherry Hills, Colorado near Denver, was brutally sexually assaulted and killed in August 1981. 

Her killing was thought to have been solved in 1983 after Ottis Elwood Toole confessed to the murder. 

He was formally charged with first-degree murder but ten years later, authorities began to question the confession Toole made and the charges were dropped in 1993.

DNA testing showed that Toole's DNA did not match genetic material that was believed to have been left at the scene by the killer.

In 2000, DNA that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation had on file was then  submitted to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). 

The sample that was sent was left unidentified until January 29 when it was finally matched to 62-year-old David Dwayne Anderson of Nebraska. 

The breakthrough came after Cherry Hills Village Police Department (CHVPD) began working with United Data Connect, a genetic genealogy company that specializes in forensic science. 

A match was finally found in May 2020 with David Anderson, 62, of Nebraska. He is pictured here in a mugshot from the 1980

A match was finally found in May 2020 with David Anderson, 62, of Nebraska. He is pictured here in a mugshot from the 1980

A DNA analyst working at the small police force contacted the forensics firm and a meeting was held with the company founder Mitch Morrissey.  

'There's a young DNA analyst, she used worked to work in Denver, and she said Mitch, if you have a slot I worked on a case, we worked with Colorado Bureau of Investigation(CBI), it's a homicide down in Cherry Hills and if you would contact Detective Lenny Abeyta, I'm sure he would love your help,' said Morrissey recalling the conversation to 9News. 

In May 2020, United Data Connect found there was a potential match after samples from the 1981 crime scene matched two public DNA databases, including GED Match and Family Tree DNA. 

Then on January 22, an investigator from United Data Connect Investigator traveled to Cozad, a town of about 3,800 people in west-central Nebraska, to secretly collect DNA from Anderson.


Anderson, pictured during his arrest on February 10. He was identified as a suspect after DNA from a Vanilla Coke can he was drank matched that found at the scene of Quayle's murder

Anderson, pictured during his arrest on February 10. He was identified as a suspect after DNA from a Vanilla Coke can he was drank matched that found at the scene of Quayle's murder

Two bags of trash were retrieved from the apartment complex dumpster where Anderson lived.

Aside from mail and bills there were a number of items suitable for DNA testing including a water bottle, rum bottle and a Vanilla Coke can. 

A week later on January 29, lab results yielded a match that saw DNA from the Vanilla Coke can matching multiple items that were found at Quyale's crime scene. 

Anderson was arrested earlier this month on February 10 in Nebraska. He faces two counts of first-degree murder.

He'll be prosecuted under 1981 laws which means if her convicted of a first-degree murder he would be eligible for parole in 20 years. Current laws do not allow for parole. 

Quayle, pictured, was sexually assaulted and killed likely by someone who broke into her home either late in the early morning hours of August 4th 1981. Phone lines to her home had been cut and a bathroom window screen had been removed. She was found dead the following morning

Quayle, pictured, was sexually assaulted and killed likely by someone who broke into her home either late in the early morning hours of August 4th 1981. Phone lines to her home had been cut and a bathroom window screen had been removed. She was found dead the following morning

CBI records detail how Anderson had been arrested multiple times between 1976 and 1988 and had even done prison time in Colorado. 

He was arrested twice on burglary charges 1981 including one incident two months after Quayle's murder. 

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies arrested Anderson on a burglary charge he was sentenced to three years in state prison.

Several more arrests occurred in the 1980s mainly on burglary and trespassing charges. 

'It's been a journey, and then getting to know Jo, and understanding, being a little sister and what Sylvia meant to her, it's been a little breathtaking,' said CHVPD Chief Michelle Tovrea who announced news of the arrest together with Quayle's sister and brother-in-law.

'It's been a journey, and then getting to know Jo, and understanding, being a little sister and what Sylvia meant to her, it's been a little breathtaking,' said CHVPD Chief Michelle Tovrea, pictured center, who announced news of the arrest

'It's been a journey, and then getting to know Jo, and understanding, being a little sister and what Sylvia meant to her, it's been a little breathtaking,' said CHVPD Chief Michelle Tovrea, pictured center, who announced news of the arrest

A DNA analyst working at the small police force contacted the forensics firm and a meeting was held with the company founder Mitch Morrissey who assisted in DNA analysis

A DNA analyst working at the small police force contacted the forensics firm and a meeting was held with the company founder Mitch Morrissey who assisted in DNA analysis

'Sylvia's sister and family had the quote "Beauty seen is never lost" etched onto her grave marker a very fitting reminder of the beautiful person she was.'

It's believed Quayle was sexually assaulted and killed likely by someone who broke into her home either late in the early morning hours of August 4th 1981.

Phone lines to her home had been cut and a bathroom window screen had been removed.  

Quayle spoke to her younger sister around 11pm on August 3 but was dead by the following morning when her father found her naked body on the living room floor of her home, at 8am.  

Investigators told how her hands were covered in blood and that she had broken fingernails and 'visible red marks' on her neck 'consistent with the shape of fingers.'

The coroner found Quayle had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and shot in the head.

Mugshots of David Dwayne Anderson of Nebraska are pictured with about 40 years between them

Mugshots of David Dwayne Anderson of Nebraska are pictured with about 40 years between them

Her cause of death was listed as blood loss due to the wounds that pierced her heart and lungs with a gunshot wound listed as a secondary cause of death. 

'To meet, Sylvia's family today means a lot to me,' said Morrisey. 'When I read this case and I realized that her father found her in the condition that I know she was in. The way that she was left after being brutalized, and killed, I can't imagine as a father myself of a young woman about this age to have a morning like that.'

Although Quayle's parents are no longer alive and Chief Tovrea said the woman had a very close relationship with them.

'She loved her little sister very much,' said Tovrea.'She had a wonderful loving relationship with her parents and had coffee with them every morning. They missed her deeply.' 

Nebraska man, 62, is charged with sexually assaulting and murdering woman, 34, in 1981 in Colorado after investigators linked DNA from a Vanilla Coke can in his trash to the crime scene Nebraska man, 62, is charged with sexually assaulting and murdering woman, 34, in 1981 in Colorado after investigators linked DNA from a Vanilla Coke can in his trash to the crime scene Reviewed by Your Destination on February 26, 2021 Rating: 5

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