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Oregon man confesses to 'brutal, ice-blooded' cold case murder, rape in Boston: DA

Nearly 44 years after the murder and rape of a woman in Boston, Massachusetts, an Oregon man confessed to FBI agents that he committed the crime.

A Portland, Oregon man who allegedly confessed to the "brutal, ice-blooded murder" of a woman in Boston, Massachusetts back in October 1979 was extradited back to Boston, where he was expected to be arraigned on Monday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a press release that 68-year-old John Michael Irmer, who was transported from Portland to Boston over the weekend, would be charged with the murder of Susan Marcia Rose on Oct. 30, 1979.

In August, law enforcement officials said, Irmer walked into the Portland FBI field office and confessed on his own to agents that around Halloween in 1979, he met a woman with red hair at a skating rink.

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The two then went entered a building undergoing renovation on Beacon Street, Irma reportedly told police, where he grabbed a hammer, struck the woman on the head, and killed her before raping her.

After making the confession to agents, investigators verified that Rose, who had red hair, was found murdered at a building on Beacon Street on Oct. 30, 1979.

Rose’s cause of death was determined to be from multiple blunt injuries on the head with fractures to the skull and lacerations to the brain.

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Investigators also collected a DNA sample from Irmer, and it was a positive match to samples recovered from the murder scene.

Originally from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Rose moved to Boston and lived on Dartmouth Street when she died.

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In June 1981, a man who was accused of killing Rose was found not guilty, the DA’s office said.

Hayden said Rose’s family, after nearly 44 years, will finally have answers after losing her at such a young age.

"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," the DA said. "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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