How A Cigarette Butt Solved A 52-Year-Old Cold Case
Due to the advancement of DNA sequencing technologies and the continued evolution of software like AncestryDNA and 23andMe, law enforcement was able to identify the killer of Rita Curran, a young teacher who was murdered nearly 52 years ago, by linking DNA found on a cigarette butt to genetic matches in commercial databases.
Almost 52 years ago, police in Burlington, Vermont, were called to the apartment of a young teacher, after her roommate returned home to find her dead in the bedroom. The homicide of Rita Curran has been cold for half a century, but thanks to advancements in DNA analysis, as well as a cigarette butt found near Curran’s body at the crime scene and fastidiously preserved as evidence, Burlington police can finally consider this case closed. More and more cold cases are being closed each year thanks to advancements in DNA and the popularity of genetic testing services like 23andMe and AncestryDNA.
When Curran was murdered in July 1971, police narrowed down the time of death to a 70-minute window, the only time that Curran would have been in the apartment without roommates. While they interviewed a number of subjects, none were the culprit. Rita Curran’s murderer was, in fact, just one floor above her—William DeRoos, a neighbor who lived in the apartment upstairs with his wife. That evening, DeRoos and his wife had gotten into an argument, after which he’d left to take a walk and cool off; when he returned, he told his wife to lie and say he had not left the apartment.
DeRoos’s cigarette butt, left next to the strangled body of Rita Curran, would catch him in the end, but justice came too late, both for DeRoos and for Curran’s parents. DeRoos passed away some years later of an overdose, after divorcing his wife, moving to Thailand, and remarrying. Curran’s parents, as well, had died without ever knowing who killed their daughter or seeing anyone pay the price for such a heinous crime.
According to NPR, the Burlington Police Department held an event at which they announced their findings about the Rita Curran homicide and publicly closed the case, Curran’s siblings said that they did not often think of her killer but of the effect his act had on cutting Rita’s life short and inflicting so much pain on her remaining family members, especially her parents. Burlington detectives worked hard to solve the cold case, but sadly, it was too late to hold DeRoos accountable.
Police have access to a huge database of DNA information, but they were initially unable to find a DNA match using their own methods and databases. Instead, Burlington police tested the cigarette butt against the DNA available in commercial testing databases, where every day, people submit their genetic material for DNA analysis. Even though DeRoos himself hadn’t submitted any genetic material, enough of his relatives had that investigators were able to conclusively link the cigarette butt and, therefore, the crime itself to DeRoos.
When detectives questioned his now ex-wife again, she expressed regret at having lied about his whereabouts, saying that she didn’t know why he had asked her to lie, and she assumed it had something to do with his criminal record. Though many of the officers and investigators who worked Curran’s case have retired or passed away, those still around were thrilled the case had finally been solved. It’s the hope of police departments across the country that DNA advancements help solve hundreds of cold cases.
