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Samuel Harry Dicola, 58, who has no fixed address, has been charged with murder i connection to the death of his infant son in their former family home in the 9600 block of Lafayette Avenue in Manassas in 1984.
Then, the initial investigation determined that on Nov. 29, 1984, the victim, a 3-month-old boy, was in the care of Dicola, who was 20 at the time, at their Manassas home when, at some point, the child allegedly began experiencing breathing problems.
Investigators said that Dicola took the child to an area hospital for evaluation where it was determined that he would require further care at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, where he later died.
In December 1984, an autopsy by the Medical Examiner determined that the child died from “severe retinal hemorrhaging and swollen brain” which was deemed to have been cause by the father shaking the baby.
Officials say that no charges were filed at the time of the initial police investigation because the death was first classified as undetermined.
Then the case was reopened in 2021 when new information came to light.
In September 2021, Dicola was stopped by police in Maryland on an unrelated matter where additional information was obtained that prompted a reexamination of the case, according to a police spokesperson.
Using new technology, the medical examiner in Washington, DC reclassified the death as a homicide and Dicola was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
He is being held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail until he can be transported back to Prince William County.
According to officials, “ based on current Virginia law, the identity of the victim will not be disclosed by law enforcement due to their age at the time of their death.”
Dicola is behind bars and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Tuesday, April 11.
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