DNA Links Suspected Serial Killer on Florida Death Row to 1998 Cold Case 

Florida authorities have identified the man they think is responsible for the 1998 murder of a woman who went unidentified until this year — and he's on death row for another murder. 

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that Lucious Boyd was being charged with the murder of Eileen Truppner, who was raped and killed on Dec. 18, 1998.

Boyd is a suspected serial killer on death row for the murder of Dawnia Dacosta, who authorities say Boyd killed two weeks before he killed Truppner. 

“Lucious Boyd’s indictment for Eileen’s homicide is possible due to the collaborative efforts of BSO cold case detectives, crime lab analysts and crime scene investigators,” said Sheriff Gregory Tony. “Now, Eileen’s family can put an end to decades of living with uncertainty while detectives continue their mission with one thing in mind — justice has no expiration date.”

Boyd was sentenced to death in 2002 and is awaiting execution in Florida. He is suspected of being responsible for “several other homicides" in addition to the one is for which he is facing execution, said Detective Zack Scott.

Scott noted that Boyd refused to discuss the Truppner case. 

Truppner was found by a boater a day after her death in an isolated area on Florida's U.S. 27 back in 1998. The medical examiner’s office determined she had been strangled to death, the sheriff’s office said. 

Authorities were able to identify Truppner with the help of DNA earlier this year after launching a cold case homicide unit in 2019. 

"My sister was very kind," said Truppner’s sister, Nancy. "She had a good heart. … She would never hurt anybody."

DNA also played a role in identifying Truppner’s killer. Investigators initially believed Roberto Fernandes, a Brazilian serial killer who died in a 2005 plane crash, could have been responsible for Truppner’s slaying, but the DNA results linked the woman to Boyd’s DNA, which was collected in Dacosta’s murder investigation. 

Boyd was indicted last week by a Broward County grand jury and now faces additional first-degree murder and sexual battery charges.