MANASSAS, Va. — A man has been arrested in connection to a homicide investigation spanning nearly 40 years in Prince William County. Detectives with the Violent Crimes Bureau charged 58-year-old Samuel Harry Decola with murder on Wednesday. Decola is accused of killing his 3-month-old infant son at the family's home in Manassas in November of 1984.
The investigation was reopened in September 2021 after additional information was obtained in the case. The initial investigation revealed that on November 29, 1984, the 3-month-old boy who was in Decola's care at the home. Investigators found that at some point the child allegedly began experiencing breathing problems. Police said Decola took the victim to the hospital for evaluation, where the boy was then taken to Children's National Hospital in D.C. The boy later died. Decola was 20 years old at the time.
In December 1984, an autopsy was completed by the medical examiner’s office in Washington D.C. where it was determined the child had died from severe retinal hemorrhaging and swollen brain which was deemed to have been caused by Decola shaking the infant.
At the time of the initial investigation, the medical examiner classified the death as undetermined, and based on the medical findings, prosecution was not sought by the then-Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County.
In September 2021, the accused was stopped by law enforcement on an unrelated matter, police said. That's when additional information was obtained that prompted a reexamination of the case.
Following the recent review of the investigation consistent with current medical expertise, the medical examiner’s office in Washington D.C. reclassified the cause of death as a homicide. Following the investigation, Decola was charged.
Decola is currently behind bars on an unrelated matter at the Rappahannock Regional Jail where he will remain until transported to Prince William County.
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