ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A Pinellas County jury heard emotional testimony from family members and investigators as the trial continued for a man accused of killing an 82-year-old St. Petersburg woman in a case that went unsolved for decades.
Prosecutors said Opal Weil was beaten and strangled inside her St. Petersburg home in February 1987.
The case remained unsolved for nearly 40 years until advances in DNA technology led investigators to Michael Lapniewski Jr., who was arrested in Mississippi in 2023.
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On Tuesday, jurors heard from Weil’s great-niece, Tracey Crawford, who testified about the close relationship she shared with her aunt and the moment she learned Weil had been killed…