After nearly 50 years, the Sturtz family finally has some closure regarding who was responsible for 20-year-old Roseann Sturtz's (a.k.a. Ann) murder. On Tuesday, Howard County Police Department disclosed the killer’s identity of its second oldest cold case as Charles William Davis Jr., who is now in his 70s and currently serving three life sentences for other murders in the same time period.
“Today is a day of remembrance, closure, and justice. This moment is not just about solving a case, it’s about honoring Ann’s life, providing her family with long-overdue answers, and seeking justice, no matter how much time has passed,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, according to Howard County Maryland.
On Aug. 24, 1975, Sturtz was reported missing after she was last seen alive around a Tic Toc Club on Eutaw Street in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. On Dec. 15, 1975, Sturtz’s body was found in a wooded area off Route 108 in Columbia. At the time, DNA analysis was nonexistent, and there were no witnesses to the crime and little evidence to go on. Hence, the case went cold.
In 1981, while authorities connected Davis to other murders, the defendant was shown a picture of Sturtz and asked if he knew about the murder. He denied knowing the victim. However, in 2022, Cpl. Wade Zufall, who was in charge of the cold case unit, discovered a 1981 letter by the then Howard County State's Attorney that offered Davis a blanket immunity from prosecution regarding Sturtz’s murder and a recording of the interview.
Soon, Zufall reached out to the defendant, who had been incarcerated at the Jessup Correctional Institution since 1978, for an interview. This time, Zufall showed Davis a mugshot of Sturtz, different from the picture the defendant was shown in 1981. Then, Davis identified Sturtz as one of his victims.
Davis told Zufall he met the victim at a local bar, and soon they got into an argument that led to a violent altercation. Davis admitted strangling Sturtz.
The defendant told authorities he wanted to give Sturtz’s family closure, and the current Howard County State’s Attorney, Rich Gibson, upheld the blanket immunity provided in 1981. As a result, Davis will not be prosecuted for the crime.
"In November 2024, we were grateful to have all the case details, learned Roseann's actual date of death and receive the closure we have been praying for all these years -- finally put to rest the answers we never had," said Sturtz family in a statement, reported CBS News.
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