Police solve 1975 murder of Montreal teen Sharron Prior after new DNA evidence
The murder of Montreal teenager Sharron Prior has been solved, 48 years later.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Chief Inspector of the Major Crimes Division Pierre Duquette of the Longueuil police service revealed a scientific breakthrough in the field of genetic genealogy led them to identifying the perpetrator of the 1975 cold case.
Biological tests have 100 per cent confirmed that Franklin Maywood Romine, born on April 2, 1946, was the killer that police had been trying to identify for nearly five decades, he said.
"The solving of Sharron's case will never bring Sharron back. But knowing that her killer is no longer on this Earth and won't kill anymore, brings us to somewhat of a closure," Prior's sister Doreen said Tuesday.
The major breakthrough in one of Quebec's most high-profile cold cases follows the exhumation of Romine's body earlier this month in West Virginia.
Romine, who died in 1982, was identified as the primary suspect after a new analysis technique uncovered his DNA on Prior's clothing.
Prior, 16, disappeared in Montreal's Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood in 1975 while on her way to meet friends at a pizzeria.
Four days later, her beaten, naked body was found at a field in Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore.
Police exhumed the body of Franklin Maywood Romine of Putnam County, West Virginia after a Longueuil police (SPAL) investigation found a match with DNA from the 1975 killing of Sharron Prior in Montreal. SOURCE: Noovo
After committing a rape in West Virginia in 1974, Romine reportedly fled to Canada where he is believed to have abducted and murdered Prior.
Shortly after, he was arrested in Montreal on the West Virginia rape and extradited to the U.S.
Investigators said DNA had been gathered from Prior's clothing and from a shirt used to restrain her was never sufficient for analysis until recently. Advances in DNA technology allowed police to obtain an amplified specimen of the DNA, enough to compare it to samples in a database containing thousands of profiles of people identified by their family names. That database led police to the Romine family name.
Police analyzed Y chromosome DNA — passed down almost unchanged from father to son — to identify a family line, and they matched the sample to four brothers in West Virginia.
Yvonne Prior, centre, reacts with her daughters Moreen, left and Doreen during a press conference as police confirm the identity of the killer of the 1975 murder of her daughter Sharron on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 in Longueuil, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
Because Romine has died, Longueuil police say the confirmation of his identity closes this cold case and will not lead to any charges in the Canadian courts.
During the news conference Tuesday, the family thanked the police on both sides of the border for the "miracle of science" that led them to their sister's killer.
"You may never have come back to our house or Congregation Street that weekend but you have never left our hearts and you never will," Sharron's sister Moreen said.
"We love you Sharron now may you truly rest in peace."
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.