Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto report the arrest of Jerry Rosado from Millville, New Jersey for the sexual assault of Susan Negersmith from a 1990 cold case. At that time, Negersmith was a 20-year-old female from Carmel, New York who was in the Wildwood area with friends for Memorial Day Weekend.
On Sunday, May 27, 1990, the partially clothed body of Negersmith was discovered in a rear outside storage area adjacent to a restaurant in Wildwood. An autopsy was performed and it was determined that she was sexually assaulted.
During the course of the next 32 years, an intense investigation was conducted by numerous law enforcement agencies including the Major Crimes Unit of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, the Wildwood Police Detective Bureau, the New Jersey State Police Major Crimes Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
During the investigation, an unknown STR DNA profile was identified from the body of Negersmith. This profile was compared with multiple individuals of interest over the years all with negative results. In 2018, the Major Crimes Unit of the prosecutor’s office with the knowledge of new DNA technology, started a genetic genealogy analysis of the unknown DNA profile. As the result of that genealogy analysis, it was determined that Jerry Rosado was a STR DNA match to the unknown profile.
“Countless law enforcement professionals and prosecutors have worked on resolving this case over the last thirty-two years and their collective dedicated effort, in conjunction with the improvements in DNA technology and genetic genealogy analysis, has led to this long overdue arrest,” said Sutherland. “I want to particularly commend the Major Crimes Cold Case Unit of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office for their steadfast efforts in finally providing a measure of justice to the Negersmith family.”
Rosado is charged with the second-degree crime of sexual assault. A person convicted of a second-degree crime is subject to a term of imprisonment of 5 to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison.
This investigation is ongoing and should additional information become available more charges could be made. Sutherland urges anyone who has information concerning this case to report it anonymously through the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597 or call the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135.
Republished courtesy of Cape May County Prosecutor's Office.