County cops re-release reward info for Wancura case

Two days after the one-year anniversary of Reverend Canon Paul Wancura’s death, the Suffolk County Police Department is re-releasing it’s notice of the $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers of the Island resident.

Anyone with information is urged to phone 1-800-220-TIPS to speak to the Suffolk County Police Department.

Island Police Chief Jim Read has said that, even with no new information released on the churchman’s death , it is not a cold case.

While the Suffolk County Police Department has been tight lipped about the ongoing investigation into the homicide of Reverend Wancura, who died from injuries on April 16, 2018, Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read has said the investigation is very much alive.

The Shelter Island Police Department doesn’t have the personnel to handle major crimes such as homicides, which is why Suffolk County receives a fee from local communities to lead an investigation into a major crime.

The 87-year-old Reverend Wancura, a canon in the Episcopal church, died in Stony Brook University Hospital, a month after suffering wounds inflicted during a home invasion and burglary at his Oak Tree Lane residence in Silver Beach. He had been left alone, bound by his wrists, for more than two days.

Chief Read has said he speaks with Suffolk County detectives investigating the case on a regular basis and believes leads they are following will eventually conclude in an arrest.

At the beginning of the investigation, Suffolk County Acting Police Commissioner Stuart Cameron said the home invasion was not “a random incident,” and Chief Read has said nothing has changed in the interim to alter that analysis.

With active leads still being investigated, local and county police believe there will be a resolution.