Michael Breisch Charged In Rose Josephine Hnath's Murder: DA

Michael Breisch was arrested in Ohio this week, the District Attorney's Office said Thursday, May 16.

Hnath, 78, was found dead from stab wounds and blunt force trauma at her 2690 2nd Street home on Jan. 21, 1989. Family members discovered the scene after she failed to show up for her usual church service that morning, prosecutors said.

The home had been ransacked, and defensive wounds suggested she tried to fight off her attacker, the DA's Office said.

"The evidence collected at the crime scene and maintained over the years was reviewed and re-tested as science and technology advanced," prosecutors said.

"Ultimately, the efforts taken to preserve the evidence were rewarded when investigative techniques unavailable in the 20th century helped lead us to the defendant, Michael Breisch, and allowed us to make this arrest in 2024."

Breisch, of Wind Gap, was 31 years old at the time of Hnath's killing. He is charged with criminal homicide, burglary, and related counts, and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 21.

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