A Millville man has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman found dead in Wildwood 32 years ago.
Jerry Rosado, now 62, is accused of raping Susan Negersmith, whose body was found May 27, 1990, partially clothed in a rear storage area next to a Wildwood restaurant. Two employees from Schellenger’s Restaurant found her body.
“Countless law enforcement professionals and prosecutors have worked on resolving this case over the last 32 years and their collective dedicated effort, in conjunction with the improvements in DNA Technology and Genetic Genealogy Analysis, has led to this long overdue arrest," Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said Friday. "I want to particularly commend the Major Crimes Cold Case Unit of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office for their steadfast efforts in finally providing a measure of justice to the Negersmith family.”
Rosado is jailed on a charged of second-degree sexual assault. A murder charge has not been announced.
Negersmith was celebrating the end of her sophomore year with five friends when they arrived in Wildwood a day earlier. The 20-year-old Carmel, N.Y., woman was a marketing major.
There was unknown DNA found on Negersmith's body, but for years it never matched any people of interest.
Then, in 2018, the Major Crimes Unit started a Genetic Genealogy Analysis of the unknown DNA profile, Sutherland said.
Rosado was allegedly a match.
This investigation is ongoing. Additional charges could be made if additional information becomes available.
Anyone with information concerning this case can report it anonymously through the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597. Information can also be called in to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135.
