Crime
In January 1972, 19-year-old Nancy Anderson was found dead in her Honolulu apartment by her roommate. Anderson had only been living in Hawaii for a few months after moving from Bay City, Michigan.
She was stabbed over 60 times, with some so deep they left exit wounds. Over the years, police looked at her ex-boyfriend and a door-to-door knife salesman who visited her the day she was murdered, but those men were eventually ruled out after their DNA did not match what was found at the crime scene.
In 2021, police received a tip that a man named Tudor Chirila might have been involved in the case. In March 2022, police obtained a DNA sample from Chirila’s son, John Chirila. Results of DNA testing indicated he was the son of the person who left DNA at Anderson’s crime scene in 1972.
On September 6th, 2022, police got a warrant for Tudor’s DNA. Testing revealed it was a match. Seven days later, he was arrested at a Reno, Nevada, hospital where he had been taken after a suicide attempt.
Chirila, a former deputy Nevada attorney general, fought his extradition to Hawaii, arguing that his DNA was taken unlawfully and he was threatened by law enforcement.
He was returned to Hawaii in December 2022.
He was facing second-degree murder charges, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence, but he died in custody in January 2024 while he was awaiting trial.
DOB:
1946Conviction(s):
- N/A
Date of crime:
January 7th, 1972Location(s):
Honolulu, HIDate of arrest:
September 13th, 2022Details:
Cold case murder that was solved after decades.Confirmed Victim(s):
- Nancy Anderson (19)
Method:
StabbingSentence:
N/ACurrent whereabouts:
Died in January 2024 while awaiting trialSources:
N/ALast Updated on 07/19/2026
