Officials announced Monday that a 68-year-old man will be charged for the death of a woman found beaten and raped in a Boston apartment building in 1979.
ABC 5 Boston reports that John Michael Irmer is facing charged in connection with the death of Susan Marcia Rose. The 24-year-old woman was found beat to death in a Boston Back Bay apartment.
Irmer reportedly went to the Portland FBI field office last month and admitted to the murder. According to investigators, Irmer said he had an encounter with a “red-haired woman” at a Boston skating rink around Halloween 1979. He then walked with her to 285 Beacon Street and once inside the building, where he raped her and grabbed a hammer and beat her to death.
Police found Rose’s body on October 30, 1979, with numerous head and brain lacerations.
NBC Boston reports that investigators said Irmer took a DNA test following the confession, which was matched to the preserved DNA found at the crime scene.
According to court documents, Rose was originally from Pennsylvania but had moved to Boston’s Dartmouth Street when the murder occurred. While Irmer fled to New York following the crime, another man was arrested for the murder but found not guilty during trial.
“Nearly 44 years after losing her at such a young age, the family and friends of Susan Marcia Rose will finally have some answers. This was a brutal, ice-blooded murder made worse by the fact that a person was charged and tried,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said Monday.
“This was a brutal, ice-blooded murder made worse by the fact that a person was charged and tried—and fortunately, found not guilty—while the real murderer remained silent until now. No matter how cold cases get resolved, it’s always the answers that are important for those who have lived with grief and loss and so many agonizing questions.”
Irmer remains behind bars without bail. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Susan Rose/Handout]
