A discarded cigarette butt is the key to the unsolved 1962 murder of a Vermont woman

DNA left on Curran’s ripped house coat and DNA on the cigarette butt revealed that DeRoos had a penchant for violence

Finally, investigators found that DNA left on Curran’s ripped house coat also matched the DNA on the cigarette butt, the report reads. Investigators re-interviewed his then-wife, who admitted that she had lied about DeRoos’ alibi.

The detectives who picked up the case in 2019 contracted with a DNA testing company and the samples were compared with genetic material submitted to commercial DNA testing companies by members of the public. The sample that was traced through both sides of DeRoos’s family and pointed to him was not a genetic sample, according to Burlington detectives.

DeRoos’ ex- wife had told investigators that he had left their apartment within a fleeting period of time when the roommates were gone.

In a recent interview, DeRoos’s ex-wife, who lived with him in Burlington and now lives in Eugene, Oregon, told investigators she had lied about her husband leaving their apartment that night. The wife of DeRoos told detectives that he had a penchant for violence.

In order to bring in a team of detectives and experts to review and discuss the cold case, he instead of having a single detective work it alone.

An outside genetic genealogy expert concluded that the cigarette DNA had strong connections to relatives of DeRoos on both the paternal and maternal sides.

Burlington Police Investigating a Case of An Unusual Cigar Found Near the Body of a Vermont School Teacher who was killed almost 52 years ago

The family that has been through an incredible saga over the past 51 years is most grateful for the relief and pride he has for this department.

The city of Burlington, Vt. A cigarette found near the body of a Vermont school teacher who was killed almost 52 years ago was the key to the case, police said Tuesday.

Curran’s parents died without learning who had killed their daughter, but the victim’s brother and sister attended the event held at Burlington police headquarters.

Tom said that he does not think about the person who did this as he thinks about Rita, his parents and what they went through. I am praying to Rita and my parents.

The case remained open and investigators never let it go, but in 2019, Trieb and a team of detectives, officers, technicians and others began working the case as though it had just happened.

DeRoos and his wife, who no longer uses the name DeRoos, left Vermont shortly after Curran’s death. The marriage ended when DeRoos went to Thailand. DeRoos married again after moving back to the United States.

Thomas Chennette, the Detective who interviewed DeRoos’s first ex-wife, said that she was protecting him because he had a criminal record.

Patrick Leahy, who was the Chittenden County State’s Attorney at that time, attended Tuesday’s event. He said that he hoped the case would be solved.