A brutal murder went unsolved for more than 50 years, until police finally identified the killer using a discarded cigarette butt.
The Burlington Police Department announced Tuesday that they've closed one of Vermont's most high-profile cold cases after identifying the person they believed killed Rita Curran in 1971.
Curran, a 24-year-old school teacher, was found dead in her apartment after being beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled, the Burlington Free Press reported.
Over the years, police received hundreds of tips and even questioned serial killer Ted Bundy in connection with Curran's death, but found no trail to her murderer.
A team of investigators began a deep dive to reexamine the case in 2019, which among other things involved reinterviewing potential witnesses and testing evidence at the crime scene for DNA, including a cigarette butt found near Curran's body.
The cigarette butt had been tested in 2014, but returned no DNA profile at the time. Last summer, a company tested the sample against genetic material submitted to commercial DNA testing companies by members of the public -- and they got a match, the Associated Press reported. Although the suspect had no DNA profile on record, analysts said the sample was traced through relatives and implicated William DeRoos in the crime. DeRoos, then 31, lived two floors above Curran in the same apartment building.
Investigators also were able to match DNA found on Curran's jacket to DeRoos after identifying his DNA from the cigarette butt, Vermont Public reported.
While detectives have probable cause, DeRoos died of a drug overdose in 1986 so no charges will be brought in the case.
"We're all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran, but because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose he will not be held accountable for his actions -- but this case will be closed," Detective Lt. James Trieb said during a news conference on Tuesday.
DeRoos was suspected in Curran's death and was interviewed after the murder, but denied having any involvement. His ex-wife later told police that she initially lied to investigators, saying DeRoos was at home at the time of the murder when he was actually out taking a walk to get some air. According to police, DeRoos left the couple's apartment after getting into an argument with his wife of two weeks.
After being questioned about the murder, and telling police he was home all night and didn't see or hear anything, DeRoos instructed his wife not to mention that he had been out because he had a criminal history and police would try to pin the crime on him, investigators said. And that's what she did, until police confronted her with the DNA evidence.
DeRoos' former wife is not expected to face charges in the case, as "lying to the police is not a crime."
"She lied at the time because she was young, she was naive, she was newly married and she was in love," Detective Thomas Chenette said. "I do not believe in my heart that she was aware that the murder had occurred or that she had any suspicion that he did it until we put the pieces together for her."
While Curran's parents both died without knowing who their daughter's killer was, her brother and sister both thanked police for their tireless work at solving the case.
"I'm so proud of the kindness, the consideration, the caring and the compassion that they've shown to us, over decades, over multiple administrations of multiple police chiefs, multiple officers over all those years," said Mary Campbell, Curran’s sister. "We're so thankful for this day."
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