Nearly five decades after two Pennsylvania women were murdered, investigators have identified a long-haul trucker as the suspected killer through advances in DNA technology.
James Richard Clark, who died at age 66 in 2023, was linked to the deaths of Susan Rush, 21, and Brenda Ritter, 18. Both women were sexually assaulted and strangled in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in separate attacks in 1976 and 1977.
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) announced the breakthrough during a November 4 news conference, describing it as a major development in the decades-old cold cases.
“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 a Thanksgiving dinner. She never reached her destination. Her body was later discovered inside the trunk of her car on North Avenue.
Ritter was killed less than a year later. On May 18, 1977, she left her boyfriend’s home during a thunderstorm before being sexually assaulted and strangled. Her abandoned car was found the next day, while her unclothed body was discovered roughly a mile away in South Strabane, Pennsylvania.
Authorities said DNA recovered from the crime scenes in both cases ultimately matched Clark, who died from natural causes in 2023 at the age of 66.
During the news conference, PSP officials said Clark worked as a long-haul trucker and had not initially been considered a suspect. Investigators identified him only after recently developed DNA evidence provided a link.
Susan Rush, 21, was leaving a Washington County shopping center on November 25, 1976, intending to attend a Thanksgiving dinner.
Brenda Ritter, 18, left her boyfriend’s home during a thunderstorm on May 18, 1977. Her car was found empty the following day, and her unclothed body was discovered a mile away in South Strabane, Pennsylvania.
Investigators submitted evidence from Ritter’s case to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2008. The system is a computerized network containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scenes and missing-person cases.
Authorities checked the database every week, but no match appeared for many years.
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According to The Observer Reporter, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program provided funding for additional testing in August 2021 and May 2022.
Investigators have not determined whether Clark knew either woman or whether the attacks resulted from chance encounters.
PSP officials said Corporal James Petrosky is the lead investigator on both homicide 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 they have not identified any additional victims, but investigators intend to continue examining the possibility.
“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.
DNA recovered from the scenes of Ritter and Rush’s murders was matched to Clark, who died of natural causes at age 66 in 2023.
The Pennsylvania State Police announced the DNA breakthrough during a November 4 news conference.
“These cases never go away. They remain open. Our unit strives to try to progress these cases forward,” Petrosky said during the news conference.
Police are asking anyone with information about either killing to contact the Pennsylvania State Police as the investigation continues.
The Daily Mail has contacted the PSP and the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program for comment.