'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
John Michael Irmer, a 68-year-old from Oregon, confessed to the brutal murder and r*pe of Susan Marcia Rose on October 30, 1979, in Boston. Irmer went to an FBI field office in Portland in August 2023 and confessed to the crime, according to the New York Post. He was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated r*pe over 40 years after the incident in a Boston courtroom on Monday, September 11, 2023.
Trigger warning: The article contains mentions of brutal murder and r*pe. Discretion is advised.
Reportedly when she was killed Susan had just moved to Boston from Pennsylvania and lived on Dartmouth Street. According to a press release given by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, in 1981, a different man was tried and found not guilty of Susan's murder. However, the press release hasn't given any other information about the same.
While Irmer confessed to the murder and r*pe last month, he was indicted in a Boston court on Monday. The judge in the court ordered that Irmer be held without bail.
John Michael Irmer broke his silence after over 40 years and confessed to killing Susan Marcia Rose in 1979
A horrifying murder and r*pe happened in Boston on October 30, 1979, when Susan Marcia Rose was brutally murdered and s*xually assaulted. For over 40 years, Susan's murderer remained silent but he was charged with her murder and r*pe on Monday, September 11, 2023. The Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden confirmed that the culprit, John Michael Irmer has been charged.
As mentioned earlier, John Michael Irmer walked into an FBI office in Portland where he confessed to the crime. He told FBI agents that in 1979, he had met a red-haired girl at a skating rink in Boston on the eve of Halloween. Irmer said that the two walked around the Back Bay before entering a building that was being renovated at the time. John claimed that the woman wanted to explore the abandoned building which was why they went inside.
The 68-year-old then told the FBI agents that as soon as the two of them walked into the building, he took a hammer and struck the woman on her head. The blow to the head killed her almost instantly. Irmer then r*ped the woman after she had died and then fled to New York the next day. He allegedly even tossed the woman's wallet in the Charles River before fleeing.
The woman was identified as Susan Marcia Rose. As mentioned earlier, following the murder, the police arrested and charged a man with Susan's r*pe and murder but he was acquitted in 1981. Susan's cause of death was determined to be injuries from a blunt object to the head which left her skull with fractures and lacerations to her brain.
To confirm Irmer's statement, authorities took his DNA sample, which matched with samples preserved from the 1979 crime scene. John's attorney, Steven Sack, said that he wouldn't contest his client's bail but would highlight the fact that his client surrendered.
"I would say on his behalf, he was a free man for years. He walked into police and confessed, allegedly," Sack noted.
Sack also revealed that his client has come to court "without a fight to face these charges."
District Attorney Kevin Hayden said that after so many decades the family and friends of the victim would finally get some closure and answers to several unanswered questions. Hayden said,
"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 added:
"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."
John Michael Irmer claimed that he remembered nothing about Susan but her red hair
Hayden also went on to discuss cold cases being solved and said that no matter how the cold cases are resolved, it is the answers that are important. He noted that the answers were important for the people who had dealt with the loss and grief and had "so many agonizing questions."
While talking to the FBI about Susan, John Michael Irmer claimed that he had forgotten her name and age but claimed to remember her red hair. A police report from the time was also discovered which mentioned that at the time, Susan was fighting with her boyfriend. After the murder, Susan's case became a cold case as authorities didn't have any answers or leads as to what could have happened to her that night.
According to CBS Boston, for a majority of the time during the arraignment, John Michael Irmer hid behind a wall in the courtroom. This was something noticed by multiple people across social media.
Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reported that Irmer wanted to confess to multiple murders. John Michael Irmer allegedly told the police that he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison, which had already served. He claimed that the charges against him were for a murder he committed in California.
CNN tried reaching out to Suffolk County’s Attorney's Office, however, they refused to comment on Irmer's case as of now. Authorities believe that the recent changes in the cold case would bring some relief and peace to the victim's family. John Michael Irmer has his pretrial hearing on October 17, 2023.
