Ore. man reportedly confesses to killing Boston woman in vacant building in 1979
09/11/2023 12:30 pm PDT
BOSTON (TCD) -- An Oregon man was extradited to Massachusetts over the weekend after he reportedly confessed to killing and sexually assaulting a woman in late 1979 in the city's Back Bay neighborhood.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, in August, 68-year-old John Michael Irmer walked into the FBI office in Portland, Oregon, and told special agents he killed 24-year-old Susan Marcia Rose over 40 years ago. He reportedly said he met a redhead at an ice rink in Boston around Halloween 1979, and they made their way to a building on Beacon Street that was under renovation.
Irmer allegedly confessed he "grabbed a nearby hammer and struck the woman on the head, killing her," not long after they walked into the building. After beating her to death, he allegedly raped her, then fled to New York.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Rose was found dead Oct. 30, 1979, in the Beacon Street building with blunt force trauma injuries to her head and brain. FBI agents took a DNA sample from Irmer, and it reportedly matched evidence taken at the scene.
Another man went to trial in 1981 for allegedly killing Rose, but a jury found him not guilty.
In a statement, Boston Police said there was a warrant for Irmer’s arrest out of Boston Municipal Court and he was due in court Monday, Sept. 11, for his arraignment.
Boston.com reports Irmer confessed to killing someone else in another state during his hearing Monday. A judge ordered him to be held without bail.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in the news release, "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."
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