Arrest made in 1997 New Jersey cold case murder of Tammy Tignor
SOMERSET COUNTY, N.J. -- A Canadian man has been arrested for the 1997 murder of Tammy Tignor, whose body was found in a New Jersey park after she was strangled to death.
Nearly three decades later, authorities say DNA technology and an eyewitness report led them to 60-year-old Robert Creter, who has been charged with first degree murder in Tignor's death.
New DNA technology unlocks 27-year-old murder mystery
Tignor's body was discovered in a wooded area of Washington Valley Park in Bridgewater 27 years ago, kicking of the investigation that puzzled authorities for years.
"The last person who saw Tammy alive saw her get into an orange van," Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Michael McLaughlin said.
The orange van was also seen in Newark, a city Tignor frequented, prosecutors said.
County prosecutors used the witness's account and worked with the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit to link preserved DNA found on Tignor's body to Creter.
"In 2023, there were advancements in DNA testing that resulted in a profile that police were able to match to Robert Creter. Somerset County prosecutors detectives then looked into his prior police reports and they were able to link Creter to an orange van," McLaughlin said.
"If you think about when she was killed, there was really no cellphones, license plate readers," said New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Pat Callahan.
Suspect was arrested in Canada in 2023
Investigators said they got a match on Creter in April 2023 and that Canadian authorities took him into custody several months later in Winnipeg.
Due to extradition laws, prosecutors said they couldn't tell Tignor's mom about the arrest until Creter was on U.S. soil. She had called detectives every year for updates on her daughter's murder case.
"It was incredibly emotional. She was very thankful to our detectives today and the detectives at the time," McLaughlin said.
Investigators have not divulged a motive for Tignor's murder, but said she and Creter did not know each other.
Creter is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday.
