Close-knit brothers deny
accusations, give police alibis

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

When Frank Pauline Jr. went to police and told them he knew who kidnapped, raped and murdered Dana Ireland, he gave authorities the names of two brothers.

Albert Ian Schweitzer and his younger brother Shawn have denied the allegations.

Prosecutors, however, apparently think otherwise, having brought murder, kidnapping and sexual assault charges against them for a second time.

Albert Ian Makela Schweitzer told a Kauai police detective in 1994 that his entire family was close-knit.

He said he was especially close to Shawn. "I think we so close ... that people are jealous of us."

Ian, now 27, said he often hung out with his brother. The two used to go to Pohoiki, a surfing and water recreation spot in Puna. "That was my spot," he told the detective.

He has been living on Kauai since about 1992, working as a nurse at Samuel Mahelona Hospital.

His only convictions are for traffic offenses such as resisting an order to stop and racing on the roadway. And he is awaiting trial on an unrelated sexual assault case.

In another case unrelated to Ireland's death, Shawn Anthony Kalei Schweitzer was sentenced earlier this year to 180 days in jail after pleading no contest to a reduced misdemeanor fourth-degree sexual assault for inappropriately touching a girl. The girl was 15 at the time of the 1992 sex offense, which occurred when Shawn was 16.

He wasn't charged with the crime until charges were also brought in the Ireland case. His only other previous conviction was for criminal contempt of court.

Shawn, now 23, was 16 years old on Dec. 24, 1991, when Ireland was killed.

"The media coverage has been stressful on him," family friend Carlson Pung told the writer of a 1997 bail study.

The study indicated that Shawn quit his job at a Big Island resort because of the publicity. People have been staring at him and the media have been a problem, the study said.

The brothers also have been featured on "Wanted Dead" posters put up in Puna.

Shawn admitted to some marijuana and cocaine use several years prior to the 1997 bail study.

Pauline originally told investigators that Ian was driving a Volkswagen Beetle that ran over Ireland. Pauline also told police that both brothers raped her.

On June 24, 1994, five days after Pauline made his first statement to police, investigators raided the Schweitzer family home in the Puna subdivision of Hawaiian Beaches.

Police took Ian's 1957 Volkswagen Beetle as evidence.

Both brothers also made statements to police. Police reports detailing the statements have been filed in court.

Both brothers told police that they didn't hang out with Frank Pauline, although they knew him.

Shawn said he was home on that Christmas Eve and Ian said he was either home or at his uncle's house.

Ian also detailed how he obtained his car. He said he and another man traded the shells of their Volkswagens. He said he completed the trade by doing the mechanical work and putting the man's engine back into the VW he traded and replacing the interior, tires and rims.

Ian said he did not do any body work on the car.

The hood from the '57 Volkswagen was rotted, but not smashed, and he threw away the fenders from the Volkswagens at a dump.

When Ian first got the car, it was purple.

But it wasn't his color, he told police, so he decided to repaint it yellow, according to police reports.

The police report said Ian contradicted his statement about whether the car was working, saying first that the bug was not running on Dec. 24, 1991, but then later saying he used the bug to get to his uncle's house.

The Schweitzers' lawyers have said they believe Pauline implicated the brothers because of bad blood between the families.

According to the police reports, Ian called Pauline and his family "bad" and "a bunch of punks."

After making an initial statement, the brothers decided against talking to police any further.

Courtesy of John and Louise Ireland
3-year-old Dana on the patio of the
Irelands' home in Springfield, Va.

Tuesday, June 8 Blurred through the years is the real Dana. She lives on, though -- beautiful, shy, kind -- in the memories of those who knew her. The innocent. The indicted. Anatomy of a murder. The what and where of the attack. Who's who in the Dana Ireland tragedy. Wednesday, June 9 Help came too late for Dana Ireland. From the moment she was hit by her attackers' car until the time an ambulance reached her, more than two hours passed. Here's how minutes -- and a life -- were lost. Thursday, June 10 Life has gone on since the Dec. 24, 1991, attack. Memories have faded. Witnesses have scattered. But each twist and turn in the seven-year bid to bring to justice those responsible means fresh injury, not only to Dana's family but to witnesses whose lives have been put on hold by this on-again, off-again case.

No Frames: Tuesday, June 8 | Wednesday, June 9 | Thursday, June 10