NJ - Susan Negersmith, 20, murdered, Wildwood, 27 May 1990 *Arrest in 2022* case dismissed with prejudice

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JusticeWillBeServed

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Over Memorial Day weekend in 1990, Susan Negersmith traveled to Wildwood, New Jersey for a fun vacation with her friends. She attended a party that weekend and another party-goer was the last person to report seeing her alive, sometime around 2:30 A.M. Her body was later found in an alley behind a restaurant, with the initial conclusion being that she was the victim of a rape and murder.

A month later, the coroner concluded that the cause of death was accidental, due to alcohol intoxication and exposure. This report did conclude that there were 26 areas of trauma on Susan's body which he attributed to "drunkenness". Indeed, many witnesses did say that during this night, Susan appeared to be heavily intoxicated but this conclusion still ignored crucial aspects of the situation.

Susan's father never believed this and fought to have it overruled.

A father wins a bitter victory Crusader: Kent Negersmith didn't believe the official reports that listed his daughter's death as an accident. After 5 1/2 years, authorities have acknowledged that he was right.- December 4th, 1995

The crime scene photographs depicted a classic rape-murder. The county coroner found otherwise. Cause of death: alcohol intoxication and exposure. Manner of death: accidental.
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It was Memorial Day weekend, 1990. Susan Negersmith drove to the Jersey shore with six friends. They checked into a Wildwood hotel and spent the evening smoking marijuana and drinking. Susan left the motel about 10 p.m. From midnight to about 2:30 a.m., she stopped at a local gym, accompanied a man she met there to a party and then was seen on the porch of a nearby house, according to police reports.
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Mr. Negersmith sought a second and third opinion from forensic pathologists. They reached the same conclusion as Dr. DiMaio: Susan was a victim of a homicide.

The fight was going on three years when a new prosecutor was named for Cape May County. After reading the Negersmith file, prosecutor Steve Moore reached the same conclusion as Susan's family. He lobbied state law enforcement officials to reinvestigate the case.

The extensive review by the state police led them to the same finding: homicide.
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Time and evidence were lost during the initial investigation since Susan's death was deemed non-suspicious. Her father has kept many journals on the case but 25 years later, the murder remains unsolved. Susan's sister (who was two at the time) has now taken a leadership role in getting answers.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/crime/2015/05/31/years-wildwood-murder-case-still-unsolved/28271337/

But with her father's health failing, Emily now is taking up the gauntlet to pursue justice for the sister she barely knew.

Emily came to Middle Township last month to meet with investigators about the case.

"They didn't even know why I wanted to come down," she said. "They remembered me as the baby sister."
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Other Articles:

'90 Report on Woman's Death Is Doubted - March 20th, 1993

How 1990 Wildwood 'Accident' Became A Homicide After Susan Negersmith's Body Was Found, Battered And Bloody, "There Were Some Mistakes Made." - July 25th, 1993

Father of slain woman pleads for information - August 3rd, 2010

Cold cases linger in the memories of investigators, families - July 5th, 2014

New Clue In 25 Year Old Unsolved Wildwood Murder - May 27th, 2015

Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor revealed that a single hair found at the crime scene in 1990 could provide the DNA evidence needed to crack the case, thanks to technology that didn’t exist then. However, Taylor cautioned, he’s awaiting advice from experts before proceeding because there’s a risk that analyzing the hair could destroy it before vital evidence is extracted.
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Wildwood slaying once ruled an accident remains unsolved - May 29th, 2015


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"SEARCH FOR ANSWERS IN 25-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE OF RAPE AND MURDER IN WILDWOOD"

http://7online.com/news/search-for-answers-in-25-year-old-cold-case-of-rape-and-murder-in-wildwood/775040/

She was found there nude, dumped by a garbage can but had clean feet. It was clear she did not walk there. The worst was given that law enforcement told the family her death was accidental.

This is the initial death certificate, "manner of death, accidental". It would take the family years to get it changed, maintaining the town wanted to protect tourism.
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I was just looking at this case the other day, thanks for making a thread for Susan JWBS.

Supposedly there were screams heard that night and even a witness who saw a guy dragging a person fitting Susan's description into a alley. One article I read talked of numerous exchange workers from Russia and Europe in town that weekend. They have submitted what they suspect is the perps DNA into the databases so maybe in time this case will be solved.

Imagine your daughter or sister being murdered and having to fight the county officials in order for them to acknowledge that her death was indeed a murder and not accidental. I really admire the Father for the persistence it took to get the findings reversed.

I found this quote from a old philly .com article troubling to say the least..

There was blood all over Negersmith's T-shirt, which was pushed up around her neck. Her jeans were pulled down and twisted around her left ankle. Her tennis shoes were missing and her feet were clean, showing she hadn't walked without the shoes. Tests showed she had had sex not long before her death.

Still, Goode, his assistant, Mary Ann Clayton, and the Cape May County medical examiner, John Napoleon, ruled that Negersmith's death was accidental
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A conspiracy minded person, which I am not, would have a field day with the original autopsy findings and manor of death classification but for now I'll chalk that up to incompetence.

I must admit, my ears perked up a bit when I read her shoes were missing. Kind of reminiscent of a set of strangulation murders 16 years later and up the shore a piece.
 
I grew up outside of Philly and my family spent just about every weekend in Wildwood when I was growing because we had a houseboat docked there...I don't remember hearing about this case, though. I think my parents bought the bought in 1989 so I'm sure they knew about this but my brother and I were too young. Definitely a heartbreaking case...I hope DNA technology can help them finally find the killer.
 
Hey, I just watched “ the barefoot murder” on ID channel.

Did anyone look into David Dixon’s whereabouts in 1990 ?

He did kill a girl for her white sneakers.....in 1984 in Philly.

Finally arrested in 1993 with a *&$#load of white sneaks.

Just n idea.
 
Bump. I had not heard of this case, but encountered her photograph randomly just now, while Googling Ray Gricar. I was struck by what an attractive girl she was. Is there any update on DNA analysis in this case?

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Little background on Wildwood. Its today much like it was back then. In the winter the town essentially shuts down. They even turn the water off in some areas of the town. But in the summer, the town is a giant carnival. And not the upper class kind. Almost all of the workers are immigrants from other countries, mostly eastern europe. They make a ton of money (exchange rate) and send it home and can live on it the rest of the year. No background checks are done. Many come with diseases and criminal histories. They rent apartments for the season and put as many people in the apartment as they can to save costs. All this to say: statistically it was a non-citizen who worked there over the summer, likely his roommates knew about the assault and murder, and they may or may not have come back the following summer. I'd be curious to know if any other assaults happened in the prior summer. Maybe shows a pattern of increasing aggression. If nothing after this summer, they may have just not come back.
 
Spent many summers in WW, don't remember this case, (I was in HS then) ill have to look into it

I can tell you that something like this is exceedingly rare in WW , though assaults and alcohol poisoning deaths are more common during the senior week periods down there where the new grads, go and spend a week at the shore .

I would imagine sexual assaults may increase during those periods as well but i cant say for certain
 
Arrest made in this case thru genetic genealogy:

Millville man charged in Susan Negersmith cold case in Wildwood

"A man who raped a Wildwood vacationer found slain in 1990 eluded detectives for decades.

But authorities say a suspect in the case couldn’t escape recent advances in DNA technology.

Jerry Rosado, 62, of Millville has been charged with the sexual assault of Susan Negersmith, a 20-year-old New York state woman who was killed while visiting Wildwood with friends 32 years ago.

An investigation into Negersmith’s homicide is ongoing, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s office said.

“And should additional information become available, additional charges could be made,” it said."


Also posted link to this thread on :
DNA Solves Cold Cases/Parabon Nanolabs & GED/Match.
 
I haven’t seen a mugshot yet. They are still investigating the murder as it may pertain to the rapist.
 
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