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DNA Match Cracks 1997 NJ Murder Case, Suspect Arrested In Canada

After 27 years, authorities announced an arrest in a major Bridgewater cold case murder.

Robert Creter was charged with the murder of Tamara Tignor, whose body was found where the red arrow is pointing near Washington Valley Park.

Robert Creter was charged with the murder of Tamara Tignor, whose body was found where the red arrow is pointing near Washington Valley Park.

Photo Credit: Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

Robert Creter, a 60-year-old Winnipeg, Manitoba resident was charged with the murder of Tamara "Tammy" Tignor, 23, of Newark,  Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald said Monday, Dec. 2.

Bridgewater police received a 9-1-1 call reporting the discovery of Tignor's body by a Bridgewater resident on a dirt access road that ended in a cul-de-sac off Gilbride Road near Washington Valley Park on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1997, McDonald said. An autopsy determined her death to be a homicide, authorities said. 

Tignor's murder remained unsolved for years until the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit was able to resubmit DNA testing where they found a match for  Creter, who relocated to Winnipeg in 2002.

Creter was charged with murder in the first degree in 2023 and taken into custody by Canadian authorities in June 2024.  On Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, Creter was extradited to the United States from Canada by members of the United States Marshals Service, authorities said. 

Upon his arrival in New Jersey, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit took custody of Creter, authorities said.

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