An Oregon man has allegedly confessed to the “brutal, ice-blooded murder” of a Boston woman committed 44 years ago, WBZ reported.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced that the suspected murderer, John Michael Irmer, now 68, was arraigned and charged for allegedly murdering 24-year-old Susan Marcia Rose in 1979, according to WBZ.
Irmer confessed to the crime in August after walking into an FBI field office in Portland, Oregon, Hayden said.
Irmer claimed he murdered the red-headed Rose with a hammer after meeting her at a skating rink in Boston in October 1979, WBZ reported. (RELATED: Police Identify Headless Remains Found 26 Years Ago, ‘Seeking Persons Of Interest’ In Cold Case)
@thespybrief 68-yo man walks into an FBI office & turns himself in for an unsolved rape/murder he committed in Boston nearly 44 years ago.
ABC via:https://t.co/UcaQCUbaWn— Stacey Zinke (@StacezMcKee) September 11, 2023
Rose was found dead Oct. 30 in the renovated apartment building where the crime allegedly took place, with the cause of death identified as blunt injuries to the head. Irmer fled to New York the next day, WHDH reported.
Another man was found not guilty of Rose’s murder in 1981. Currently, investigators have matched Irmer’s DNA with DNA samples preserved from the murder scene, according to WHDH.
“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—and fortunately, found not guilty—while the real murderer remained silent until now,” Hayden said in a statement.
Irmer had previously served 30 years in a California prison for another murder case and had been out of prison for the last decade, WHDH reported. Prosecutors said Irmer had also allegedly confessed to the murder of another woman in the southern U.S., but authorities had not completed investigating the claim by the time of arraignment.
Irmer is currently being held without bail on murder and aggravated rape charges, WBZ reported.