Police have used fingerprints left at the scene of a 1986 murder of a Florida paramedic and bodybuilder to finally identify the killer, a major twist on who they originally thought was the murderer.
Last week, police in Miramar, Florida, announced that Harry Van Collier was responsible for the murder of William “Billy” Halpern, using fingerprint matches to pinpoint Collier as the murderer. Collier was murdered shortly after he allegedly killed Halpern.
“To be without your brother for that long is terrible,” Lori Halpern, Halpern’s sister, told Local 10 News in January. “It won’t bring Billy back, but it will give me closure it is important that they find out why and that they get punished for what they have done.”
Halpern, 28 at the time, was killed on October 21, 1986 in the bedroom of his townhome in Miramar. The victim had his throat slit by an unknown object and ultimately bled to death.
Along with working for the Hallandale Beach Fire Rescue as a paramedic, Halpern also worked at Apollo Gym in Hollywood, Florida, which has been linked to at least two other murders.
Just a few months after Halpern's murder, two others with connections to the gym were also found dead. Both Collier, then 28, and another one of Halpern’s acquaintances, James Hinote Jr., 31, were shot dead in Pembroke Pines at the home of another gym member.
Former Miami-Dade Police Officer Gil Fernandez, who also owned the Apollo Gym, was arrested and charged with the double murder. Fernandez was originally believed to also be responsible for Halpern's murder, but DNA evidence showed Fernandez was not responsible for Halpern's murder.
The case remained cold until January, when Halpern's relatives held a press conference and spoke about evidence showing Collier was responsible for the crime.
Investigators were able to connect Halpern's death with another double murder in Tarnac that pointed to Collier.
“Because we have Harry Collier’s fingerprint at the Tamarac double murder scene, and the similarities between that murder scene and the scene of Billy Halpern’s murder, along with numerous interviews we conducted, we are confident that if Harry Collier were alive today, we would be charging him with murder and he would stand trial,” said Miramar Police Detective Danny Smith in a statement.
Detectives previously believed there were several individuals involved in the murder and Halpern willingly let the suspect into his home.
Investigators believe Halpern became a liability to members of the gym for knowing too much about potential illegal activities including drugs and guns.