As Halloween 2026 approaches, the killing of Washington restaurateur Nori Amaya remains unsolved. The 38-year-old co-owner of U Street’s Coppi’s Organic was strangled in her apartment after a night out in 2009. Her brother and business partner, Carlos Amaya, found her body and has continued seeking answers, NBC News reported.
An unresolved forensic lead
The publicly reported forensic evidence has not identified a killer. Police recovered male DNA at the scene, but no match has been reported; investigators have developed a profile that has helped rule people out, according to NBC News and FOX 5 DC. Those reports do not establish what additional testing or investigative methods may have been used, or whether the profile can identify the person responsible.
The available account also describes obstacles to identifying anyone in building surveillance: many people entering and leaving the Woodner that Halloween were wearing masks, and cameras did not cover every part of the property, FOX 5 DC and NBC4 Washington reported. Police have not publicly named a suspect. NBC4 reported in 2026 that the case remained open and that police declined to provide new details.
A separate D.C. case offers limited context
DNA has featured in other District cold-case investigations, but those cases do not show what will happen in Amaya’s. In a separate investigation into sexual assaults dated June 26, 2008, through August 31, 2012, the Metropolitan Police Department said a defendant was linked to the attacks through DNA testing and other investigative tools. That case involved different crimes and evidence; the department’s account does not say those methods have been used in Amaya’s investigation. It does illustrate that DNA can contribute to an investigation alongside other tools, not that an unidentified profile will necessarily produce an identification, MPD said.
The Metropolitan Police Department says people with information about unsolved cases may submit anonymous tips by calling 202-727-9099 or texting 50411, according to its unsolved-case information. For Amaya’s family, the central question remains unanswered: who killed Nori Amaya?
