DNA Submitted In 2005 Melbourne Case Helps Grand Jury Indict Man For First-Degree Murder In 1986 Cold Case

By  //  June 12, 2019

Danny Emitt indicted for 1st Degree Premeditated Murder of Eveline Aguilar in 1986 Cold Case

A Seminole County Grand Jury has issued an indictment for Danny Lynn Emitt (left) with First Degree Premeditated Murder on Tuesday for the 1986 Cold Case Homicide of Eveline Aguilar. (right)

SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA – A Seminole County Grand Jury has issued an indictment for Danny Lynn Emitt with First Degree Premeditated Murder on Tuesday for the 1986 Cold Case Homicide of Eveline Aguilar.

Authorities say Emitt lived less than 1 mile away from Aguilar at the time of her death.

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma called the case a “brutal homicide and sexual battery.”

Sheriff Lemma said the case was most recently re-opened in May 2018 and semen from the crime scene was resubmitted to the Combined DNA Index System — the law enforcement database known as CODIS, according to an ABC News report.

The semen sample matched a DNA sample Emitt had voluntarily submitted in 2005 in connection with a Melbourne, Florida, case, the sheriff’s office said.

Emitt was not arrested in the Melbourne sexual battery case, authorities say.

Eveline Aguilar, 38, was murdered in Florida in July 1986. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Image)

Documents say Aguilar’s body was discovered by a friend on July 14, 1986, who found Aguilar had been brutally and repeatedly stabbed to death in her home in Winter Park, Florida.

Days later, the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.

As part of the crime scene investigation, deputies discovered that a glass pane had been removed from a window, allowing it to be unlocked. Deputies  also recovered palm prints from the interior window sill, and seminal fluid from the victim, but both remained unidentified until recently.

In 1986, Emitt was not identified as a suspect and the case eventually went cold.

As part of a recent review, investigators used evidence recovered in 1986 to advanced DNA testing.

The results were compared to DNA profiles within a national data base and positively matched to Emitt.

WHEEL OF FUGITIVE: Brevard Sheriff’s Office Names Heather Rae Fisher ‘Fugitive of the Week’Related Story:
WHEEL OF FUGITIVE: Brevard Sheriff’s Office Names Heather Rae Fisher ‘Fugitive of the Week’

The recovered palm print was also identified as Emitt’s.

“Our hearts go out to Eveline Aguilar’s family members who have continually sought justice for Eveline,” said Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma.

“Thanks to the dedication and persistence from our Major Crimes and Forensic Units, and our partners from FDLE and Knoxville PD, we have taken this dangerous criminal off the streets.”

The Grand Jury heard testimony from a Seminole County Criminal Investigator before returning with the indictment, according to the State Attorney’s office.

Emitt could face the Death Penalty and will be arraigned when he returns to Seminole County.

Emitt is currently sitting in the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility in Tennessee.

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS