Las Vegas police arrest man linked to 1980 cold case murder through DNA evidence

A suspect in the cold case killing of a Las Vegas woman in her home 42 years ago has been arrested, police said Tuesday. 

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Paul Nuttall, 64, was taken into custody on suspicion of murder, sexual assault and other charges for the 1980 death of Sandra DiFelice. DiFelice, 25, was sexually assaulted and killed on Dec. 26, 1980, police said. 

Officers responded to the scene that evening amid reports of a dead body. 

Nuttall was a person of interest during the initial investigation but DNA from under the fingernails of DiFelice linked him to the killing, police said. 

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The investigation into her death went cold, but the case was renewed in February 2021 when DiFelice's daughter, who was 3 at the time of the murder, called authorities for an update. Investigators then submitted additional evidence for DNA testing using new technology. 

Once Nuttall was linked to the crime, an arrest warrant was issued. 

"After Paul Nuttall was taken into custody, my cold case investigators had the pleasure of making the phone call that every cold case detective wants to make," Las Vegas Police Lt. Jason Johansson said, the news outlet reported. "And that was to call the family member, specifically Sandra DiFelice’s daughter, and let her know that there had been a development case, and that we had arrested the suspect responsible for the murder."

Authorities said Nuttall was not friends with DiFelice but knew her roommate, Fox 5 Las Vegas reported. 

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Nuttall was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and is being held with no bond. He is slated to appear in court Wednesday. 

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killing.