Cold Case Turns White Hot as Man Walks Into FBI Office, Confesses to Hammer Murder, Multiple Others
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
An Oregon man who reportedly spent 30 years in prison for a California homicide has confessed to killing a woman in Boston more than 40 years ago.
John Michael Irmer, 68, is set to face criminal charges for the murder and rape of Susan Marcia Rose in Oct. 1979, according to a news release from the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, District Attorney’s Office.
According to prosecutors, Irmer entered the Portland, Oregon, FBI field office to confess to the crime.
68 year old John Irmer of Portland, Oregon arraigned today for 1979 murder of Susan Marcia Rose in a Beacon St townhouse.
Irmer allegedly confessed to FBI and @bostonpolice in August. Authorities say DNA collected at scene is match.
More @boston25 5/6PM @NEunsolved #TrueCrime pic.twitter.com/3qEbsXIBq6— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) September 11, 2023
Irmer was transported from Oregon to Massachusetts in September.
He was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court Central Division Sept. 11 in connection with the longtime cold case.
John Michael Irmer, 68, hid behind a wall while he was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court today for murder and aggravated rape in the October 30, 1979 death of Susan Marcia Rose, 24. According to Suffolk DA, last month Irmer went to the FBI office in Portland, OR and confessed. pic.twitter.com/7KspQhvDlz
— Bianca Beltrán (@BiancaNBCBoston) September 11, 2023
Another suspect had been tried and acquitted of Rose’s murder in 1981.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden indicated that justice in the case of Rose’s death hadn’t been forgotten by her loved ones. She was 24 at the time of her death, according to ABC News.
“Nearly 44 years after losing her at such a young age, the family and friends of Susan Marcia Rose will finally have some answers,” he said in the news release.
“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.
“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.”
A CBS Boston report is below:
According to the district attorney’s office news release, Irmer recounted meeting Rose at a skating rink in Boston — before entering a building under renovation, where Irmer grabbed a hammer, beat his victim to death, and raped her, according to prosecutors.
DNA evidence allegedly corroborates Irmer’s presence at the crime scene.
The Rose slaying reportedly wasn’t all that Irmer was willing to talk about. He also confessed to other homicides during his meeting with the Portland FBI, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
His connections to other killings remain under investigation.
Irmer previously served a 30-year prison sentence for homicide in California, the Daily Mail reported.
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