A murder suspect managed to evade justice for nearly 40 years by assuming the identity of a deceased person and living in Portugal. Roman Szalajko was killed in 1984, and the case went cold until a fingerprint matched Paul Bryan in 2013. Bryan had seemingly vanished but was eventually tracked down after it was discovered he had stolen the identity of a dead man with the same name.
Bryan, now 62, was arrested last year, admitted to having a false identity document but denied the murder. The victim, Roman Szalajko, was a known gambler who kept cash at home and was last heard alive saying, "What do you want? Help! Help!" on a phone call before being killed.
Forensic tests in 2013 matched Bryan's fingerprints to evidence at the crime scene, but it was challenging to locate him due to a lack of records after 1989. Bryan had assumed the identity of a deceased Welshman, Paul Bryan, and even obtained passports under that name.
During police interviews, Bryan claimed memory loss due to a car crash and said he had taken on the false identity because of marriage to an older woman. The trial is ongoing.