DNA test leads to identification of toddler in 1960 Oahu cold case murder

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A toddler at the center of a decades-old cold case murder on Oahu has been identified through familial DNA processing, authorities announced on Tuesday.

According to HPD, the DNA of skeletal remains found in a Waikiki apartment in 2014 was linked to a child named Mary Sue Fink.

On June 29, 2014, cleaning crews found a 7 to 10 gallon galvanized steel can in a closet. In the can was skeletal remains wrapped in old newspaper dated in the 1960s.

Investigators later determined that the victim may have had three siblings who were in their 50’s in 2014.

Officials said investigators also learned the siblings’ biological mother was deceased, and their biological father lives in another state.

When interviewing the family members, they recalled having a sibling, approximately 2 to 3 years old, who had been given to an “Aunty.”

Soon after, detectives obtained paperwork that provided a possible identification of the victim — Mary Sue Fink born on April 29, 1959.

The remains were then transferred the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command so that they could be examined by an anthropologist.

In November, the Medical Examiner’s Department was notified that the remains were “of a child between 2 and 3 years of age of unknown sex and ancestry.”

Reports revealed the remains had fractures consistent with blunt force trauma that occurred shortly before death, and signs of earlier traumatic injuries.

The case was reclassified to second-degree murder.

In 2019, HPD said one of the three siblings provided a buccal swab sample to the HPD Scientific Investigative Section DNA Laboratory.

In 2020, the DNA sample was extracted and shared with the Department of the Medical Examiner who worked with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) to obtain DNA from the skeletal remains.

In 2024, the DNA from the sibling was sent to Othram for comparison and the remains were positively identified as Mary Sue Fink.

Homicide detectives believe that the victim was murdered between 1961 and 1963.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Honolulu Crimestoppers at (808) 955-8300.

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