Former high-ranking Nevada attorney accused of stabbing Hawaii teen in the heart 50 years ago

RENO, Nev. (TCD) -- A 77-year-old disgraced former lawmaker was arrested this week for his alleged role in the 1972 stabbing death of a 19-year-old woman who had only recently moved to Hawaii.

According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Tudor Chirila Jr. was taken into custody Tuesday, Sept. 13, at his apartment in Reno. Washoe County Jail records show he was booked on a charge of fugitive from other state on complaint/warrant. Chirila reportedly attempted to commit suicide before his arrest, and bandages are seen on his neck in his booking photo.

Nancy Anderson was found dead in her Waikiki apartment Jan. 7, 1972. Honolulu Police said she had been stabbed "multiple times and died at the scene." Anderson’s case went cold for decades until Honolulu Police reached out to DNA technology company Parabon NanoLabs for help with analyzing DNA. The lab then rendered a sketch of a potential suspect, and these "predictions were made for the subject’s ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, and face shape."

Honolulu Police issued a warrant for Chirila’s arrest on a charge of second-degree murder. According to the criminal complaint, Honolulu Police went to Anderson’s apartment Jan. 7, 1972, at 5:29 p.m., for a "possible suicide." Several officers arrived and found a "blue and white towel with red stains near the entrance," as well as other possible blood stains and spatter throughout the apartment.

Anderson had reportedly been stabbed several times on her sternum, chest, abdomen, and thighs. Her roommate, Jody Spooner, reportedly found Anderson’s body. She reportedly sustained 63 stab wounds, with her cause of death listed as "hemorrhage due to stab wound of heart."

Investigators tested DNA of several potential suspects, but they all came back negative. Then, in December 2021, Honolulu Police Detective Michael Ogawa learned Chirila "may be a potential suspect in the case." Records showed he lived in Hawaii around the same time when he was a graduate student at the University of Hawaii.

In February 2022, Ogawa reached out to a detective at the Reno Police Department asking for help in "surreptitiously obtaining a DNA sample from Chirila."

Reno Police reportedly "did not have any opportunities to covertly obtain Chirila’s DNA sample," but in March, Ogawa reached out to the Newport Beach Police Department to see about getting a sample from Chirila’s biological son. The son consented, and results came back showing the son’s DNA was "consistent" with the DNA taken from a towel inside Anderson’s home.

On Sept. 1, Ogawa obtained a warrant to receive a DNA sample from Chirila and to take a photo of him. A detective went to Chirila’s home Sept. 6 and got the sample. Chirila reportedly tried to take his own life Sept. 8, but the warrant says he is expected to survive.

According to the court document, Chirila’s DNA matches the samples taken from the towel inside Anderson’s apartment.

The Reno Gazette Journal reports Chirila worked as an attorney in Nevada for several years, including stints as an assistant Nevada attorney general and in the city of Reno attorney’s office. He even ran for Nevada Supreme Court in 1994 but did not win. He was reportedly arrested in the middle of his campaign for not paying over $33,000 in child support. The next year, prosecutors reportedly dropped charges against him alleging he kidnapped his girlfriend with the intent to rape her.

Chirila also worked as the president of the controversial Mustang Ranch Brothel, but he sued the owner in 1998, claiming he was wrongly fired.

CBS News reports Anderson moved to Hawaii in October 1971 from Michigan after graduating high school.

MORE:

• Reno lawyer linked to violent 1972 murder of Hawaii teen arrested after DNA match - Reno Gazette Journal
• Tudor Chirila Criminal Complaint
• Nancy Anderson Cold Case - Honolulu Police Department
• 50 years ago, Nancy Anderson was found dead in her Hawaii apartment. A former deputy Nevada attorney general has been arrested. - CBS News