DNA connects councilman to 1979 Monaca killing
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Gregory Scott Hopkins, 65, is charged in the 1979 homicide of Catherine Janet Walsh, 23, of Monaca. -
Catherine Janet Walsh, of Monaca, was 23 when she was found dead in 1979.
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Based on a DNA test, Pennsylvania State Police have charged a Bridgewater councilman in a decades-old Beaver County killing.
Gregory Scott Hopkins, 65, faces a charge of criminal homicide in the 1979 death of Catherine Janet Walsh, 23, of Monaca. Arrested Sunday, Mr. Hopkins was arraigned Sunday night before District Judge Janet M. Swihart.
His preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 6.
Beaver County District Attorney Anthony J. Berosh credited Ms. Walsh's father, Peter J. Caltury, who still lives in Monaca, as well as case investigators.
It was Mr. Caltury who found his daughter's body at her duplex Sept. 1, 1979, after she didn't show up to her job at a refrigeration business.
PG VIDEO"A promise was kept to Pete and his family and a secret now is revealed," Mr. Berosh said, adding, ""He was the motivator and the support throughout."
According to a criminal complaint handed out today before an 11 a.m. news conference, Mr. Hopkins was interviewed the night Ms. Walsh's body was found.
He told police then that he and Ms. Walsh were involved in a sexual relationship, but that it had ended a month earlier, according to the complaint.
In December 2000, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Beaver County officials had reopened the investigation into Ms. Walsh's death.
Beaver County Detective Andrew Gall, who investigated the killing as a Monaca patrolman, said in 2000 that he kept original reports from the case in his desk and hoped the attention would solve it.
"I wish I had the experience then that I do now," he said then.
According to the criminal complaint released today, a state police forensic scientist in 2010 used DNA testing not available in 1979 on case evidence. The forensic scientist discovered sperm on Ms. Walsh's bed sheets, night gown and the white rope that covered her hands.
A DNA sample was taken from Mr. Hopkins in December 2011. The match was confirmed this month, according to the complaint.
Bridgewater solicitor Myron R. Sainovich said Mr. Hopkins has been on the borough's board for about three years, appointed more than two years ago and winning a recent election.
Mr. Hopkins remains held without bond in the Beaver County jail.
Mr. Berosh called it a "generational case" with investigators from several agencies picking away at it for years upon years.
"We would not be here today if it were not for the efforts of those who are with us and those who are no longer with us," he said.
Ms. Walsh's mother died seven years ago.
Her brother, Francesco Caltieri, was 20 years old in 1979.
"Thirty-two years is a long time to wait but we always had hope that it would be solved in our lifetime," he said today. "We're at the start of closure."
First Published January 30, 2012 10:05 am
