On Christmas Eve 1991, the Ireland family’s Hawaiian vacation turned into an unimaginable nightmare.

Their 23-year-old daughter, Dana Ireland, went for a bike ride in the Kapoho subdivision and never returned.

Her mangled bicycle was found by the roadside, and hours later, a barely alive Dana was discovered in a secluded fishing trail in the Puna subdivision.

She had been brutally assaulted and left for lifeless. She succumbed to her injuries at Hilo Medical Center, sparking a massive investigation.

The case baffled investigators. Despite a large reward, the trail went cold for nearly two years. The family’s relentless pressure for answers kept the case alive, but justice seemed elusive.

In May 1994, a breakthrough: John Gonsalves, a local inmate, contacted police, claiming he had information. In exchange for a plea deal that dismissed his own serious charges, Gonsalves implicated his half-brother, Frank Pauline (also incarcerated), and two local brothers, Albert “Ian” and Shawn Schweitzer, as the perpetrators.

Pauline, facing a 10-year sentence, also agreed to a plea deal, corroborating Gonsalves’ story. He claimed they all witnessed the Schweitzer brothers assault and harm Dana. Based on these informant testimonies, all three men were charged.

The prosecution’s case, however, had catastrophic flaws. DNA evidence recovered from Dana’s body and clothing did not match Ian Schweitzer, Shawn Schweitzer, or Frank Pauline. Furthermore, bite marks found on Dana’s body were proven not to match the dental molds of the accused.

Despite the complete lack of physical evidence, the prosecution proceeded, relying heavily on the emotional testimony of the informants.

In 1999, Albert Ian Schweitzer was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life. Frank Pauline’s trial followed; despite witnesses stating they saw a pickup truck, not his Volkswagen, he was also convicted.

Shawn Schweitzer, fearing a similar fate, accepted a plea deal. He agreed to testify that he was present during the crime in exchange for a one-year sentence (time served) and probation, even though his polygraph test indicated deception.

The Schweitzer family, along with the Innocence Project, never stopped fighting the convictions. Over the years, the case against the three men completely fell apart. In 2018, Frank Pauline was tragically ended by a fellow inmate.

In 2010, law students working with the Innocence Project found more inconsistencies, including forensic analysis proving the tire tracks at the scene could not have come from Pauline’s car. Finally, in 2022, Shawn Schweitzer officially recanted, testifying he had lied under pressure.

On January 24, 2023, after Albert Ian Schweitzer had spent over 20 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, a judge overturned his conviction. The Ireland family was devastated, as the case was now back at square one.

But Hawaii police and the FBI were already pursuing a new, technologically advanced path. They resubmitted the unknown DNA profile from 1991 for modern forensic analysis. The results were astounding: the perpetrator was a male of Filipino ethnicity.

This narrowed the search significantly. Investigators identified Filipino men who lived near the crime scene in 1991.

They began approaching them for voluntary DNA samples. One man who refused was Albert “Ian” Sumera, who was 25 at the time of the incident.

Agents began surveilling Sumera. In a scene reminiscent of a spy film, an agent reportedly recovered a spoon Sumera used at a restaurant. The DNA from the spoon was sent to the lab, and on July 19, 2024, it came back as a 100% match to the perpetrator’s DNA.

Police then obtained a court order compelling Sumera to provide a formal DNA swab, which also matched. Investigators began building their murder case, aware that the statute of limitations had expired for the assault and kidnapping charges.

They learned Sumera had lived a quiet life in Hawaii for the past three decades. He married, had a family, and enjoyed fishing, all while the Schweitzer family was being torn apart for his crime.

But just as authorities were preparing an arrest warrant, the case took its final tragic turn. Before he could be formally charged, Albert Sumera was found deceased in his home in late July 2024. His passing was ruled a self-inflicted act.

After 33 years, Dana Ireland’s family finally knew the name of the man responsible, but he had escaped justice, taking the full, unadulterated truth of that horrific Christmas Eve to his grave. The Schweitzer family, though exonerated, continues to fight for compensation for their wrongful conviction.