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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Investigators are turning to a special state police unit for assistance in the 2014 death of Laurie Merritt in an intentionally set fire in her house.
				Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce Friday said the case will presented to the state police Criminal Investigation Assessment unit in Harrisburg next month.
				Sanguedolce said a panel of investigators from the CIA unit will review the unsolved case and provide resources and guidance on how to proceed.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re hoping to get a fresh look at a case we&rsquo;ve been working on for seven years,&rdquo; Sanguedolce said.
				The new development sparked the interest of Kristin Merritt. The 31-year-old daughter lives in the Wyoming Street house that&rsquo;s been renovated after the April 14, 2014 fire.
				&ldquo;I do appreciate them pursuing it because it&rsquo;s something that we deal with every day,&rdquo; Merritt said.
				Merritt and other family members have been critical of the focus and slow pace of the investigation since the body of the 51-year-old mail carrier was found in the attic of her house in Wilkes-Barre&rsquo;s North End neighborhood the night of the fire.
				The probe has taken twists and turns from the beginning, forcing investigators to change direction and struggle to obtain information.
				The death was initially ruled accidental, but it&rsquo;s remained pending investigation after a state police fire marshal determined the fire was intentionally set. Investigators have sought out expertise from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the National Fire Academy.
				Along the way investigators legally battled with Apple to open the passcode-locked iPhone of Laurie Merritt. But in 2017 they bypassed the tech giant after accessing the device with help of another piece of equipment made by Israeli-based Cellebrite. The same code-cracking equipment was reportedly used by the FBI in the terrorism investigation of a 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.
				The unsolved death received national exposure when it appeared on an episode of &ldquo;Crime Watch Daily&rdquo; in November 2017. Closer to home, in 2018 Joe Walkowiak, the older brother of Laurie, paid for a billboard along the Cross Valley Expressway in Forty Fort criticizing then District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and advertising a reward of $10,000 for an arrest in the death. 
				The case has never gone cold and has always been active, Sanguedolce said.
				Last year the state police directed the DA&rsquo;s office and Wilkes-Barre police to the CIA unit, but the COVID-19 pandemic set things back. In January, investigators began compiling information for the upcoming presentation and have met twice to prepare, as late as last week, Sanguedolce said.
				&ldquo;Essentially what happens is we take our case and make a presentation to them,&rdquo; Sanguedolce said.
				The DA and police will maintain control of the investigation, but will follow the recommendations and suggestions offered by the unit, Sanguedolce said.
				From his recollection, Sanguedolce said this is a first for his office.
				&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve used them before,&rdquo; he said

PSP Criminal Investigative Assessment unit to get look at Merritt death