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 REMARKS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY ON THE ARREST OF SULTAN OMAR CHEZULU, a.k.a. ROBERT LOUIS SCOTT, FOR THE DEC. 28, 1984, MURDER OF ELSIE “YOLANDA” HERNANDES IN ROXBURY
Dec. 2, 2008
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following remarks on the arrest of SULTAN OMAR CHEZULU, (D.O.B. 10/2/48), aka ROBERT LOUIS SCOTT, for the Dec. 28, 1984, murder of Elsie “Yolanda” Hernandes in Roxbury:
“Thank you.
“Today’s developments speak volumes about the commitment that the Suffolk DA’s Office and the Boston Police Department demonstrate to victims, to their families, and to the cause of justice in our Commonwealth.
“Yolanda Hernandes was a daughter and a sister. She was expecting to start college at Northeastern University within a week of the day she died. Had she been allowed to live, she might have grown into a mother and a grandmother. Instead, she was sexually assaulted, murdered, and literally discarded – a beautiful life cut short by actions that can only be called fiendish.
“Robert Louis Scott, now known as Sultan Omar Chezulu, has been on the run from Yolanda Hernandes’ murder for 24 years – six years longer than Yolanda lived on this earth. His arrest is proof that no span of years and no physical distance will deter us from bringing a killer to justice.
“When Scott is returned to Boston, he will be arraigned for Yolanda’s murder in the Roxbury District Court. The prosecution will be led by Assistant District Attorney Cory Flashner of my Homicide Unit, who has worked closely with the Boston Police homicide squad led by Sgt. Det. Kevin Buckley and Det. Juan Torres of the Cold Case Squad throughout this investigation.
“I have nothing but praise for Cory and the squads, but this was no individual effort – it took countless hours of hard work by many other prosecutors, detectives, victim advocates, support staff, and the outstanding criminalists of the Boston Police Crime Laboratory to bring us to this point.
“It was truly a multi-disciplinary investigation, utilizing the combination of high technology and old fashioned shoe leather that has allowed us to clear so many decades-old cases in recent years. The 1981 homicide of Terry Burhoe in Charlestown, the rapes of four women in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain between 1989 and 1991, and others have been solved by Suffolk prosecutors and Boston Police working hand in hand toward a common goal.
“Members of my Victim Witness Assistance Program spoke today with Yolanda’s surviving sister, who was reportedly very happy to hear of today’s arrest. But today is not the end of the road – the investigation remains very active, and there are many questions we simply cannot answer at this point in time.
“For almost a quarter century, Yolanda Hernandes’ death was a mystery. Today, we believe we’ve solved it. And soon, in the not-too-distant future, we will put that solution to the jury that will write its final chapter.”
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