Man Killed Mother Of His Child, Baby Never Found, Police Say

CULPEPER, VA — Nearly 30 years after a 20-year-old mother was killed in her Virginia apartment, a Culpeper man has been charged with murder in her death. Authorities said Daniel E. Pompell, 56, is the father of Sylena Jo Dalton's baby, and the child has never been found.

Virginia State Police arrested Pompell on Friday in the stabbing death of Dalton. Inside NOVA reported she was killed on July 27, 1998, in her Strasburg apartment, and her 10-week-old daughter, Allyson Kathleen Dalton, was missing.

State police credited the arrest to years of work by the Bureau of Criminal Investigations Culpeper Field Office, the Homeland Security Division’s Violent Crime Analytical Support Team, and funding from the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.

"We are pleased to be able to bring this case to this point and bring some overdue closure to the family of Sylena Jo Dalton," said Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Culpeper Field Office Captain John Defillippi, in a news release. "We are thankful for all the hard work agents and analysts put into this case to make this arrest possible. We also truly appreciate the cooperation and coordination with Shenandoah County Commonwealth's Attorney Elizabeth Cooper and her office in moving this case forward."

State police investigators in the Culpeper Field Office, the Homeland Security Division’s Violent Crime Analytical Support Team, funding from the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Virginia Attorney General's Office and the Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office aided in the investigation.

Shenandoah County Commonwealth's Attorney Elizabeth Cooper commended state police investigators who "tirelessly pursued justice for the death of Sylena Jo Dalton."

"My office is prepared to continue in this effort and ensure justice is served on behalf of the victim and her family," Cooper said in the release.