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The case dates back to 1990, when the 20-year-old woman from Putnam County was spending the weekend in southern New Jersey with friends in Wildwood, authorities said.
Using a DNA match, police arrested Jerry Rosado, now age 62, of Millville, New Jersey, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto.
Rosado is charged with the sexual assault of Susan Negersmith of Carmel. He has not been charged in connection with her death.
On Sunday, May 27, 1990, the partially clothed body of Negersmith was discovered, in a rear outside storage area, adjacent to a restaurant in Wildwood. An autopsy was performed on the remains of Negersmith and it was determined that she was sexually assaulted.
During the course of the next 32 years, an intense investigation was conducted by numerous law enforcement agencies including the Major Crimes Unit of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, the Wildwood Police Detective Bureau, the New Jersey State Police Major Crimes Unit, and the FBI.
In 2018, the Major Crimes Unit of the Prosecutors Office, with the knowledge of new DNA technology, started a Genetic Genealogy Analysis of the unknown DNA profile. As the result of that genealogy analysis, it was determined that Rosado was a STR DNA match to the unknown profile, the prosecutor said.
“Countless law enforcement professionals and prosecutors have worked on resolving this case over the last thirty-two years and their collective dedicated effort, in conjunction with the improvements in DNA Technology and Genetic Genealogy Analysis, has led to this long-overdue arrest," Sutherland said on Friday, April 8.
The investigation is ongoing.
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