The decades-old murders of two Pennsylvania women have been solved, with authorities identifying a long-haul truck driver as the killer nearly 50 years later.
James Richard Clark, 66, has been linked to the deaths of Susan Rush, 21, and Brenda Ritter, 18. Both women were sexually assaulted and strangled in Washington County in separate attacks in 1976 and 1977.
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) announced the breakthrough at a news conference on November 4, saying investigators used advances in DNA technology to identify the suspect.
“Through advancements in DNA technology and continued investigative efforts, investigators were able to link James Richard Clark to the 1976 homicide of Susan Rush and the 1977 homicide of Brenda Ritter,” the PSP said in a Facebook statement.
According to PEOPLE, Rush had been leaving a Washington County shopping center on November 25, 1976, intending to attend Thanksgiving dinner. She never reached her destination and was later found dead inside the trunk of her car on North Avenue.
A year later, Ritter was leaving her boyfriend’s home during a thunderstorm when she was sexually assaulted and strangled on May 18, 1977. Her car was found abandoned the next day, while her naked body was discovered about a mile away in South Strabane, Pennsylvania.
State authorities said DNA recovered from the scenes of both murders matched Clark, who died from natural causes at age 66 in 2023.
During the news conference, PSP officials said Clark worked as a long-haul trucker and had not previously been considered a suspect. Investigators identified him only after recently developed DNA evidence was analyzed.
Susan Rush, 21, was leaving a Washington County shopping center on November 25, 1976, before she planned to attend a Thanksgiving dinner.
Brenda Ritter, 18, was leaving her boyfriend’s home during a thunderstorm when she was sexually assaulted and strangled on May 18, 1977. Her car was found empty the following day, and her naked body was discovered a mile away in South Strabane, Pennsylvania.
According to the outlet, investigators submitted DNA evidence from Ritter’s case to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2008. CODIS is “a computer software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons.”
Investigators checked the system weekly, but no match appeared for years.
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According to The Observer Reporter, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Justice Assistance Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program provided funding for the testing in August 2021 and May 2022.
It remains unclear whether Clark knew either woman or whether the killings resulted from random encounters.
PSP authorities said Corporal James Petrosky is the lead investigator in both cases.
“We don’t know at this point, and unfortunately he died, so we don’t have the opportunity to arrest him and interview him,” Petrosky told the outlet.
Police said no additional victims have been identified, but investigators will continue examining the evidence.
“We’re constantly revisiting these cases, trying to go through and see if there’s additional evidence that can be tested or retested and different disciplines of DNA testing or fingerprinting examination,” Petrosky told the outlet.
State authorities said DNA recovered from the scenes of Ritter’s and Rush’s deaths matched Clark, who died of natural causes at age 66 in 2023.
The Pennsylvania State Police announced the DNA breakthrough at a news conference on November 4.
“These cases never go away. They remain open. Our unit strives to try to progress these cases forward,” Petrosky said at the news conference.
Police are urging anyone with information about either homicide to contact the PSP, as the investigation remains ongoing.
Our News Outlet has contacted the PSP and the Bureau of Justice Assistance Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program for comment.
