New developments and DNA evidence in a man's brutal 1986 murder in Miramar have police one step closer to closing the cold case.
The exact events surrounding the murder of William "Billy" Halpern have eluded investigators since his body was discovered on October 21, 1986.
Halpern, 28, was found tied up, beaten and with his throat slashed inside his Miramar townhome.
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At a news conference Wednesday, Miramar Police officials said detectives believe a group of people knocked on his door and that he let them inside.
"We know that Billy was safety conscious, we know that he would not have opened the door to anyone he either didn't know or didn't like," Det. Danny Smith said. "There was no forced entry at this house so our working theory is we had multiple people in broad daylight who went to Billy's townhome, knocked on the door, Billy allowed them into the house because he probably knew one or more of the people that were in this group. They pushed their way in. Once inside, Billy was bound, beaten and ultimately killed, his throat was slashed from ear to ear. This was done in broad daylight."
Halpern had been a former firefighter and bodybuilder who worked out at the Apollo gym in Hollywood, and his killing has been tied to a string of other murders back in the '80s that have been linked with the gym.
The gym's owner, Hubert "Bert" Christie, and a former Miami-Dade Police Officer, Gilbert Fernandez, were arrested and later convicted in the murders of three other people.
Though Halpern's murder remains unsolved, Miramar Police said technology and DNA testing have brought them a step closer to solving the case.
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At a news conference Wednesday, police said they now believe Halpern was killed over something he heard or saw, in an attempt to keep him quiet.
"Over the last 16 months we have been able to interview multiple people, countless individuals who have come forward that were unwilling to come forward back in the '80s and early '90s out of fear," Smith said.
Smith said Halpern wasn't part of any criminal enterprise or part of any schemes the people he's conected with were a part of.
"We believe that Billy was killed to keep him quiet and for nothing else," Smith said.
Police also said they have located and tested dozens of pieces of evidence, allowing them to build multiple partial DNA profiles, but they need witnesses to come forward so they can test those profiles against a suspect.
"We are asking the public to come forward and even give us a name of someone who they believe was there that we can potentially get their DNA and compare that to what we have," Smith said. "We have a 99% completed puzzle. We need that one puzzle piece. We're asking for the truth, it's been 37 years, we know people have information and we need that one little bit to just push us over the edge."
Halpern's sister also spoke at the news conference, and remembered her brother as being loved by everyone who knew him.
"I miss him terribly. Everyone who knew Billy loved him," Lori Halpern said.
She also urged anyone with information to come forward.
"Don't be afraid, come and tell them what you know, I'd be grateful, my family would be grateful," she added. "It won't bring Billy back but it will bring me closure."
Fernandez, now 70, is still serving his life sentence. Christie died in custody in 2000 at the age of 66.
Smith said Fernandez has been a suspect in Halpern's killing and remains one.
