A father has been charged with murder almost 39 years after his infant son’s death, Virginia police say.
Prince William County police said they charged Samuel Henry Dicola on Wednesday, Feb. 15, in the 1984 death of his son. Dicola, 58, remains incarcerated on a separate, unrelated matter at Rappahannock Regional Jail.
The initial investigation of the case found that in November 1984, Dicola — who was 20 at the time — was home with his 3-month-old son when the infant began experiencing breathing problems, police said. The baby was hospitalized and died days later.
A December 1984 autopsy revealed the baby had died from “severe retinal hemorrhaging and swollen brain” caused by his father shaking him, police said. However, at the time the medical examiner classified the death as undetermined and no prosecution was sought.
The case was re-examined starting in September 2021 after Dicola was stopped by law enforcement on an unrelated matter, according to police. During this interaction, police said “additional information was obtained that prompted a reexamination of the case.”
After reviewing the case, the medical examiner’s office in Washington, D.C., changed the cause of the infant’s death to homicide, prompting the charges against Dicola, police said.
Prince William County is east of Washington, D.C.