TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man was arrested as a suspect in his uncle’s murder over 15 years ago all thanks to a discarded fork, according to prosecutors in New York City.

WNBC reported Thursday that Anthony Scalici was indicted by a jury in New York City for the murder of his uncle, 64-year-old Rosario Prestigiacomo.

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On Feb. 10, 2009, officers found Prestigiacomo in his Queens home dead from 16 stab wounds in the face, neck, torso, and limbs as well as blunt force trauma all over his body.

“I remember he was killed,” said Sam Shahien, the victim’s former neighbor. “There was blood.”

According to WNBC, investigators recovered DNA samples from the scene that informed them that the suspect was an unknown man who was hurt in the fight, but no government databases could identify him.

However, with the help of a private lab, police were able to get a genealogical profile on the suspect, which was the first time a public genealogy database was used to identify a suspect in New York City.

After identifying Scalici as a potential suspect, officers with the NYPD and the Boynton Police Department watched him to get a discarded DNA sample. WNBC reported the officers eventually struck gold on Feb. 17, 2024, when they found a fork Scalici threw away.

Authorities said the fork produced a DNA sample matching the one found under Prestigiacomo’s fingernails and a blood sample found at the crime scene.

Scalici was arrested in Boynton Beach earlier in May and extradited to New York last Wednesday.

Officers have not yet established a motive for the murder.

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