CULPEPER, Va. – After 27 years, Virginia State Police have made an arrest in the cold case murder of Sylena Jo Dalton, who was found stabbed to death in her Strasburg apartment in 1998.
Daniel E. Pompell, 56, of Culpeper, was arrested Friday, September 26, and charged with murder. He was taken into custody without incident, according to police. Pompell is the father of Dalton’s infant daughter, Allyson Kathleen Dalton, who was just 10 weeks old at the time and has never been found.
State police say the breakthrough came thanks to years of investigative work, advanced crime analysis, and help from several agencies—including the Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
“We are pleased to bring some overdue closure to Sylena Jo Dalton’s family,” said Capt. John Defilippi of the Virginia State Police.
Dalton was 20 years old when a friend found her dead on July 27, 1998. Her daughter’s disappearance remains an open case.
The Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney will prosecute the case.
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