Arrest made in 25-year-old murder; body was found near Gowanus Xway

July 20, 2012 Associated Press

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New York City police have cracked a 25-year-old cold case.

Edwin Alcaide of Manhattan was arrested Thursday in connection with the stabbing death of Lissette Torres on Jan. 1, 1987.

On New Year’s Eve, 1986, Torres called her mother to say she would meet her family for a planned gathering — but that was the last time they heard from her. Police found the 19-year-old Brooklyn woman stabbed multiple times in a car lot near the Gowanus Expressway in Sunset Park the next day.

Police say that Torres and Alcaide were acquaintances. Alcaide was 28 years old at the time of the murder.

The victim’s parents, Jose and Rose Torres, told WCBS Radio they never gave up hope that their daughter’s attacker would be found.

Police say Alcaide is a registered sex offender with an extensive criminal background whom authorities suspected from the start. DNA taken from under Torres’ fingernails was run through the state’s DNA databank, coming up with a match for Alcaide.

The 53-year-old suspect is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of second-degree murder. He is being held without bail.

Information about his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.

Additional information reported by Eric Goldschein of the Brooklyn Eagle