A 50-YEAR Old Cold Case SOLVED In 2023 - Thanks to A Cigarette | Rita Curran

in the pre-dawn hours of July 20th 1971 at 1 30 a.m 24 year old Beverly landfur returned to her new share Department after a night out she had been enjoying the late night revelers and the tight-knit and bustling college town of Burlington Vermont and was ready to turn in for the night the first thing she noticed upon her arrival home was that the door to their shared bedroom newly unpacked and decorated from the move was now a jar Beverly was certain she'd closed it so as not to disturb her sleeping roommate 24 year old Rita Curran a second grade teacher at Milton Elementary School who was enjoying her summer break as this was Rita's first foray into living independently from her parents she turned down her three other roommates earlier invitations to party at the local bars and Beverly wanted to let her rest upon entering their bedroom Beverly was shocked to find her roommate unconscious on the floor her face battered and her body already bruised immediately Beverly called out to the two other housemates who were already home at the time but naive to any wrongdoing in the apartment's second bedroom Beverly did not phone the police right away as the universal go-to phone number of 9-1-1 had only become standardized as the American public's main emergency line three years prior instead she called The Medical Center emergency room via a telephone operator when she told the nurse on the other end that she believed her roommate was deceased in their apartment the hospital immediately connected Beverly with the local ambulance dispatch after responding to the medical distress call the Burlington Fire Department's ambulance crew requested police presence at 17 Brooks Avenue as it was clear a terrible crime had taken place officer Richard Garrow of the Burlington Police Department responded alongside paramedics the police officer confirmed that Rita was unfortunately deceased upon their arrival and the entire apartment became not the location of a medical emergency but that of a homicide the officer called his lieutenant and requested more assistance while waiting for backup he was instructed to seal off the room from the housemates of the victim and secure the scene alongside Beverly the victim's other roommates present at the scene where 19 year old Carrie Duane and 23 year old Paul Robinson a couple who was dating and recently living together Rita and her roommates resided in a three-story apartment building a duplex which consisted of the first floor apartment with the address of 17 Brooks Avenue with which was entered via the left side of the building well the second and third floor were represented by the address of 15 Brooks Avenue and contained two apartments accessible via the right side Carrie and Paul had the bedroom right off the living room and read in Beverly's bedroom was down the small hallway behind the other while detectives arrived on scene to begin their official investigation officer Garrow stayed posted at the door until 7 am at which point he was instructed to Canvas the neighborhood to ascertain if anyone had heard anything unable to contact anyone residing on the second floor officer Guerra went to the third floor and spoke with 31 year old William DeRose and his new wife Michelle DeRose Michelle told officer Garrow that she had not heard nor seen anything and had not known something nefarious was going on until she saw the police cars the couple stated emphatically that they had heard nothing out of the ordinary and when questioned further Mrs deru said that while she had been awake around 1am she'd heard no unusual sounds her husband William said the same other Witnesses in the area were interviewed but provided no information police arrived soon after and at approximately 4 20 am medical examiner Dr Harris wrote up his initial report noting that provocative nature in which the body had been placed Rita was discovered laying on her back her body forming an X shape with her arms outstretched and her legs spread apart she had sustained significant injuries to her head particularly on the left side which resulted in numerous cuts and contusions that were covered in dried blood there were signs of multiple blunt force impacts to the face and head her hair was scattered around her head and detectives noticed ripped hair strands present on the surrounding floor seemingly pulled out of Rita's scalp during the attack the medical examiner noted significant bruising on the inner parts of Rita's right and left legs and one above her right knee subsequent autopsy would reveal the cause of death was asphyxia through manual strangulation they also found recent lacerations and contusions in and around her lower half revealing that the killer also intimately assaulted her toxicity reports show no alcohol present in her system Rita had on a buttoned house coach which had been torn open at the front during the struggle resulting in the loss of some buttons which were scattered on the floor nearby the house coat was cut off the body so as not to disturb the physical artifacts on the arms and hands of the victim Rita's nightgown was completely torn from the front and was found wrapped under her shoulder and back area while the lower part was discovered in her closet doorway her underwear was ripped off her body and found beneath her left leg along with a paper bag which was not mentioned further additionally a white bed sheet a bed spread and an Afghan were twisted around her left leg and tucked underneath her police bagged the bloody bedspread and Sheet along with the handmade afghan blanket they found that Rita's left hand contained strands of hair and in her right was one long strand they also bagged the hair which was found on the floor and took a few strands from Rita's head for initial comparison during the examination of her body a lark cigarette butt was found underneath Rita's right elbow this cigarette had signs that it had been left unattended and had burnt out naturally it was laying in a pile of its own Ash crime scentex later removed a portion of the flooring which contained blood samples Beverly told police that Rita always groomed and professional in her appearance had gone to bed wearing hair curlers in preparation for the next day she was taking summer graduate courses at the nearby University of Vermont and worked part-time as a maid at Colonial motor n in an effort to be more social Rita had recently joined a local barbershop quartet and had been practicing alongside them until about 10 pm daily as she had on the night of July 19th prior to going home and going to bed for what would be the last time when Rita was found the same curlers she had so meticulously applied were now tossed in the corner of the room next to the stereo detectives noted the curlers were violently removed from her head as there were many broken and damaged strands of hair in the rollers police theorized the killer yanked the hair curlers out of Rita's head and threw them into the corner during the attack for what purpose they did not know the roommate's stereo had been tipped over in the back left corner near the speakers and the discarded hair curlers the curtains which had before been so proudly hung in the window near the same corner of the room where the hair rollers were found was now torn off the rod and laying on the stereo set noticeably there was also a small amount of dirt found on what was an otherwise tidy floor a sample of dirt from the shared residences Cellar was taken to compare with the dirt found on the floor of the victim's room additionally a large chip of wood which contained what they believed to be blood was removed from the bedroom door police also processed the hard flooring for fingerprints Rita's roommates all declared that after examining their friend nothing else was touched but their prints were dutifully taken for exclusionary purposes per police procedure detective surmised that the main portion of the altercation occurred on the right side of the bed based on Beverly's intimate knowledge of their shared room as she estimated that the bed had been moved about a foot towards the left wall the right wall had a desk belonging to Beverly and opposite to that was a shared dresser however no noteworthy items were found on either blood was discovered on the room's exit door nothing of Interest was found in the rooms where Paul and Carrie had been with no disturbances noted in the living room kitchen nor bathroom area except that there was visible blood on the outside of the kitchen door the duplexes communal rear yard and porch area showed no signs of trespass or altercation however police found blood drippings on the outside of the rear door on the upper Center and on the lower panel this Blood was thought to be The Killers most likely the result of an injury during the attack leading out as he escaped police investigated the right side driveway but found no Footprints in the Sand indicating that nobody had walked in since the rainstorm that previous evening the grassy part of the driveway also did not yield any evidence nor footprints The Cellar Windows still had cobwebs attached implying that they had not been opened the seller's back door had not been opened for quite some time it was inconclusive whether someone had been in the backyard based on the grass's condition they then checked the left side of the house but they could not find a possible entrance the bedroom window next to the front entrance was unlocked but very difficult to open and police said it was an unlikely entryway for the killer to access the back door was found closed but unlocked and the storm door was open detectives observed that the shed and porch area contained a gray waste basket that had been overturned and appeared to have been stepped on the contents of the basket were scattered on the floor another wastebasket this one white was also present but empty detectives wondered if the waste baskets had been used to peer into the windows in order to observe if the roommates were home around 6am that morning while the scene was being processed roommate Paul Robinson returned to the apartment in order to speak with Detectives he explained that he had placed the mini trash bins which were found knocked over out on the back porch the night prior as he intended to empty them later he guiltily said that he had also used the wastebasket to prop open their storm door for unknown reasons and explained that he was concerned he had possibly provided an easier entrance for the killer however he went on to say that all doors to the apartment stayed unlocked per General agreement among the roommates during the conversation he said that neither Beverly nor Rita smoked cigarettes at least to the best of his knowledge but he claims all housemates were close well Paul said that he and Carrie smoked Salem cigarettes or Benson and Hodges with the occasional winstons thrown in he was certain neither he nor Carrie ever smoked Lark's brand this was a question brought up multiple times due to the unique nature of the presence of such a brand of cigarette detectives hoped such an anomaly would point to the attacker when questioned about others access to the apartment Paul admitted that it was vulnerable due to the fact that the chain lock on the front door was broken and had been for some time he admitted all of this freely and with obvious passion and concern for their own habits being possibly to blame for the security breach detectives questioned Paul in regards to more details about him and his girlfriend's previous activities and after a while he was released without further interrogation as his story lined up with his signed statement and with the statements of the other roommates who were interviewed separately per police procedure which dictates suspects must not be questioned together in order to avoid collaborative deceit Carrie said Paul picked her up from work at 7 30 PM that night after which they drove around for a bit returning home to change clothes before leaving again at approximately 8 50 pm to have dinner at Harbor Hideaway from that bar they phoned Rita's roommate Beverly at around 11 15 PM inviting her to come for a drink according to Beverly Rita was in their shared room sleeping at the time so Beverly left without waking her and went to go to the bar with the others Beverly then left the apartment at 11 20 PM she was the last person to see Rita alive about one hour after Beverly arrived at Harbor Hideaway Paul said that he was tired and he and Carrie left the bar to go sleep at home arriving back at the apartment at approximately 12 30 a.m they recall sitting in the living room a while before heading to their bedroom to sleep for the night they said they did not notice anything amiss but did notice that the door to Rita in Beverly's room was open about 12 inches or so Beverly says she definitely closed the door on her way out as Rita was sleeping and she wanted to be courteous such a timeline LED investigators to conclude that Rita was murdered sometime within the 70-minute window between Beverly leaving and Paul and Kerry arriving back home roughly between 11 20 p.m and 12 30 a.m detective said that the roommate's comings and goings were organic in nature therefore there was no plans in which the killer could use to trap Rita the time frame between Rita being left alone and Paul and Kerry returning home being only 70 minutes made it improbable that the suspect happened to stumble upon the victim by chance they thought it more likely that the perpetrator lived nearby and had knowledge of the resident's routines and vehicles thereby enabling the monitoring of who was coming and going detectives believed the culprit was someone Rita new and looked into all the men mentioned in the original reports however tenuous the connection after re-examining the evidence investigators discovered the 31 year old William DeRose had been contacted by police for other issues at least three times in the past and lived on the third floor of Rita's apartment he had been mentioned several times during the neighborhood canvas as well but he and his wife provided each other an alibi stating they were both home and had not seen or heard anything nine days after the murder on July 28th a confidential informant also mentioned William DeRose as a possible Person of Interest stating that the Newlywed of just three weeks was quote capable of committing a violent crime interestingly to police the woman that William married was also 24 years old the same age as Rita and while the two women had had no history of contact police decided to look further into the husband but despite the accusation by the informant and the close proximity of William to the scene investigators could find no evidence linking him to the scene of the crime blood analysis and DNA profiling was not brought into investigatory efforts until 1980 and without hard incriminating artifacts William was never formally investigated as a person of interest the case would soon grow cold more than four decades later a group of Cold Case investigators reopened Rita's murder in hopes of utilizing new DNA technology to find a possible suspect as is becoming increasingly common artifacts judiciously preserved for future generations to decode and decipher became the evidence that would eventually lead to the killer himself because of the expensive nature of the tests needed to isolate and codify the crime scene artifacts the task force needed to divide the physical evidence into two groups group one being items most likely to provide DNA results such promising evidence included two cloth drawstrings from the house coat Rita had on during and after the attack a piece of linoleum with blood smears Rita's underwear part of the nightgown the house coat and two pieces of wood group 2 contained items which were less likely to provide a complete suspect DNA profile namely the hair curlers and the rest of the bedding and while the blood samples left in 1971 were too mixed integrated from which to make profiles the unique presence of the used Lark cigarette would prove to be the break detectives needed in 2014 samples of the cigarette butt fingernail scrapings and bodily fluid slides obtained during Rita's autopsy were sent to the New York City office of the chief medical examiner for DNA analysis towards the end of October of 2014 Cold Case investigators received a report stating that a male DNA profile had been retrieved from the cigarette butt it came back as suitable for comparison and was entered into the sdis the ndis and ocmes databases the New York office of the chief medical examiner confirmed that it had been entered into the coda system as well four of the eight slides that had been tested contained an insufficient DNA concentration for testing the fingernail scrapings were not tested for undisclosed reasons possibly Financial finally in 2019 the reinvestigation into what was now an almost 50 year old Cold Case got another lead based on witness statements in the case File follow-up detectives decided that given his proximity to the crime and shaky Alibi William DeRose should be added to the pool of suspects with which they could compare DNA samples taken from the cigarette butt with the known DNA profile now in hand a long list of suspects were compared and ruled out by either direct or familial comparison or utilizing CODIS exclusion the cigarette sample was also compared to Paul Robinson Rita's roommate and First Responders on the scene before the first detective arrived all were excluded the DNA profile made from the cigarette that was found under Rita's arm was even run against Ted Bundy well Bundy's Mo did not match that of Rita's indoor attack the unrelenting grip he had on American women in the 1970s could not be ignored and for years it was theorized by some that Rita was an early victim of his Rita's sister even wrote a letter to Florida's death row where Bundy was being held asking if he killed her sister in response the FBI informed her that Bundy had declined to confirm nor deny his culpability later in 1989 Bundy on the eve of his execution when questioned by FBI agents completely denied his involvement in her case and his DNA was later compared to the profile from Rita's bedroom with no match the Cold Case detectives worked with leading genome sequencing company DNA labs in order to create the profile from the cigarette butt and in 2022 the cigarette butt and the subsequent DNA profile was sent to parabon Nano labs where it was successfully sequenced and submitted into family tree DNA and Jed match for genetic genealogy forensics in August of 2022 parabon Nano lab Representatives asked for a list of suspects that had not been ruled out and due to the revelations gleaned from the 2019 investigation update William DeRose was on that list his family's genetic background was compared to the sample the results came back that there was a high confidence match associated with Rita's then upstairs neighbor with genetic matches on both the maternal and paternal sides of his family the team was eventually able to further test the DNA against living half-brother Douglas McGinty in order to confirm familial relation the confirmation came back as a hundred percent certainty investigators re-interviewed the surviving roommates to determine if they knew either William or his wife Michelle at the time while Paul and Carrie were located and recalled no significant interactions with the upstairs neighbor police were sad to find that Beverly land for her had since passed away and never learned of new case development in September of 2022 detectives flew to Oregon to meet with William's then wife who at the time of the crime went by her legal name Michelle but has since changed her name to kylas nagarjawan now in her mid-70s she recalled that she and William had met in 1970 less than two years before the murder she admitted she didn't know as much about her husband as she should have but recalls that he disclosed he had previously gone to jail twice in California with the longest stint being for armed robbery for which she served two to three years the couple married just two weeks prior to the murder in their downstairs neighbor's home William's ex-wife says she does not recall ever knowing the neighbors or even meeting them when shown a photo of Rita she says she didn't recognize her she mentions that while William was protective to the point of controlling insisting she not work as he wanted her to become pregnant as soon as possible the now elderly woman recalled almost fondly the main goal William had was to open a barber shop and have a large family with her she said at no point did she ever feel afraid of him and was adamant that the man now thought to have violently strangled a young teacher to death had never been physically abusive she also said that such a shift in personality could not be explained away through alcohol or drugs as he was a teetotaler and as she put it a serious Buddhist she remembered the police presence at the apartment back in 1971. she says the morning after the murder prior to the door-to-door canvassing her new husband William told her not to mention that he was not home at the time saying that because of his past criminal record the police might try to accuse him on the night of the murder the two had gotten into what she says was a quote quarrel but she could not remember what it was in regards to she admitted contrary to her initial and enduring official statement that actually her then-husband had left their apartment for a brief period within a window of time when Rita's roommates were also gone she recalls William went out for what he said was a quote cool down walk but after he returned he told his wife not to say he had been out at all as he said police would quote go after him due to his criminal history she does not say why she chose to keep such pertinent and Vital Information a secret other than spousal loyalty she recalls well William was out she may have fallen asleep and was not sure how long he was gone she did not remember anything out of the ordinary but did recall sleeping next to him later that night and noted he slept in longer than usual the next morning she also could not remember what he was wearing that evening nor if he had gotten rid of any clothing she alleged that if she had known with certainty that William had been involved she would have gone to police however she later admits that it's likely she would have quote covered for her new husband during any follow-up interviews in light of their conversation she admits that the thought did cross her mind that her new husband could have committed the heinous crime but she said she never asked him directly and figured he had no reason to have done it she said that he did smoke she did not but she could not recall the brand a short time after the murder William abruptly moved to Thailand the couple had an understanding that they would together move to Thailand in the future and when asked why William did so without her the ex-wife seemed confused and suggested maybe they did not have enough money critics of her Blissful ignorance say that she should have put two and two together as she was already suspicious of his nighttime walk and that coupled with his departure from the country should have raised red flags she says she later followed William to Thailand around March of 1972 roughly 10 months after the Murder She Says by that time William was a practicing Buddhist monk living at a monastery she recalls eventually he lost his title of Monk and following the loss of his religious status the couple embarked on a brief Journey which lasted several weeks eventually William was readmitted as a monk and his wife became a nun which then caused their marriage to end on account of the strict regulations about relationships Williams solicited financial help from her and his subsequent travels but she rejected the request resulting in no further communication nor encounters as she could not obtain William's signature for their divorce documents she sought the assistance of a divorce attorney to finalize the matter and they were declared divorced In Absentia at the close of the interview she reiterated to detectives that she could not recall ever having a conversation with her neighbors let alone them entering her apartment upon being shown pictures of Rita and her roommates from the time period Of The Murder She then became as detective said quote very emotional investigators then flew to Colorado to meet with William deroux third wife Sarah hepting alongside her current husband Sarah recalls she relocated to San Francisco California in July of 1974. three years after Rita's murder where she first met William Derose ironically he was her neighbor in her apartment complex and he demonstrated an interest in her although he had mentioned being previously married and visiting Thailand he never disclosed the reasons for his departure nor did he talk about his family background or if he had children Sarah says they both identified as quote hippies they married on November 19 1974 but Sarah admitted to feeling insecure and uncertain about the exclusivity of their relationship at the time Sarah described William as generally mild-mannered but she recounted a few alarming incidents for instance during a visit by a mutual acquaintance William unexpectedly produced a large pocket knife and stabbed the individual in the side without any provocation Sarah took the injured party to the hospital and William was subsequently arrested the following day he returned home and acted as if nothing had happened he even inquired whether he had stopped Sarah to which she responded in the negative revealing instead that he had stopped their friend they never discussed the incident further and William exhibited No Remorse in another instance he had nearly strangled Sarah into unconsciousness while they were drinking Sarah could not recall the origins of their fight at some point in 1976 William obtained an AR-15 and Sarah believed he was apprehended by quote the feds for such an acquisition resulting in his absence for approximately one week however William never just the incident with her just like the previous ones Sarah had no recollection of him ever mentioning living in Vermont while he was unpredictable she says she was attracted to him because he was a highly influential quote Guru who possessed the ability to wield power over people Sarah recollected that William smoked cigarettes but could not recall the brand she admitted that they partook in the occasional partying but Financial constraints prevented them from purchasing hard drugs she also mentions that William consumed a great deal of alcohol within their relationship and speculated that he also took Thorazine regularly Thorazine is a medication used to treat certain mental health conditions in adults it can help people who are experiencing symptoms such as agitation hallucinations or delusions Thorazine works by changing the balance of chemicals in the brain to help improve a person's mental state however improper dosing could result in the opposite happening leading William to make Brash an illogical decisions 1978 Sarah caught William engaging in infidelity and subsequently left him within a few months she had relocated and started Living with a new partner one day she recalls William arrived unannounced at her residence behaving strangely Sarah says she felt uneasy as she was unsure how he had acquired her new address luckily for her he left the area one day after and she never encountered him again William died of an acute morphine overdose in San Francisco in 1986. his remains were cremated and there's no biological evidence from him available for testing at the time the news of his guilt was shared with the media he would have been 83 years old instead of being prosecuted for his heinous crimes he was allowed to die in the method of his own choice while Rita's friends and remaining family would have preferred Justice to Prevail in a courtroom they understand that such answers are often not even afforded to family members due to the exclusivity of forensic genetic testing and are therefore grateful for the closure provided by the Cold Case detectives who relentlessly searched for answers even decades later Rita Patricia Curran is remembered for her patience and her grace students and colleagues alike cite her as a consummate teacher one who was always willing to help others born in the summer of 1947 and taken from the world too soon in the summer of 1971. Rita would have been 76 at the time her killer's name was finally announced in late February of 2023 Vermont's oldest Cold Case was closed after more than five decades in these uncertain times a special thanks to all of our patrons for their continued support you can find us on patreon at patreon.com merk07 or just search patreon Merck

Channel: Merc Docs

Views: 39,624

Keywords: Merc, documentary, missing persons, unsolved, Merc Docs, crime, True crime, dark, unsolved crime, Merc doc, rita curran, rita curran case, case solved, cases solved in 2023, recent cases solved, solved crime cases, solved crime, cases solved years later, cold cases solved, cold cases, cold case solved 2023

Id: OQPr9FKq3Jo

Length: 30min 53sec (1853 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 17 2023