When it comes to the loved ones of murder victims who are never able to find solace as they’re continually searching for answers to their family member’s untimely death, this murder case from Vermont from the 1970s might help to give them a glimmer of hope.
This news story posted by NBC News shares the incredible way in which authorities were able to finally identify the suspect in the 51-year-old cold case that involved the rape and murder of Rita Curran.
According to CNN.com, it was the victim’s roommate who found Curran brutally strangled in the bedroom of their apartment on Brookes Avenue in Burlington, Vermont, all those years ago in July 1971.
Police have finally been able to identify the murder suspect as none other than her neighbor, William DeRoos. DeRoos lived in an apartment above Curran with his then-wife. And even though the couple were interviewed by police three times over the last five decades, he managed to skate by due to lack of evidence.
A team of Burlington detectives were able to finally link DeRoos to the murder as they were able to identify DNA found on a cigarette butt that was found lying next to Curran’s body.
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According to the news report, the DNA found on the cigarette was then linked to DNA found on the victim’s torn clothing and compared with DNA found on public ancestry databases that matched several familial relatives of DeRoos.
According to CNN.com, DeRoos died in 1986 of a drug overdose, but at least the case has officially been closed, and the family of the victim can finally have some closure.
To hear from some of the family of Rita Curran, watch the full video posted by NBC News.
