DNA Links Deceased Trucker to Two Pennsylvania Murders

Pennsylvania State Police said DNA evidence links James Richard Clark, a long-haul truck driver, to the murders of Susan Rush and Brenda Ritter in Washington County. The announcement on November 4 resolved two killings that had remained unsolved for nearly five decades. Clark died of natural causes in July 2023, aged 66, and was not previously a suspect, police said.

Rush disappeared after leaving work on November 24, 1976, and was due to meet her family that evening. Her car was found the next day, with her body in its trunk. Ritter left her boyfriend’s home on May 18, 1977. Her body was found the following day on a hillside in South Strabane. Both women had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Investigators submitted DNA evidence from Ritter’s case for database testing in 2008. Later testing linked evidence from both killings to the same offender, and further analysis identified Clark. Police said the findings had been shared with the victims’ families and Clark’s family.

Corporal James Petrosky said investigators had not established whether Clark knew the women or whether the attacks involved random encounters. Police have not identified other victims, but said they will continue reviewing evidence for material that could be tested or retested. The investigation remains open, and police are asking anyone with relevant information to contact them.