Oregon man confessed to cold case murder of Susan Marcia Rose, who was raped and bludgeoned to death with a hammer in 1979

John Michael Irmer was 25 in 1979 when he murdered Rose, 24, in an ‘ice-blooded murder’ inside a Boston apt building that was under renovation  

Now 68, Irmer walked into an FBI office in Portland in August 2022, and told agents he wanted to confess to the killing of Rose and other murders 

Self-confessed killer was transported to Boston in Oct. 2022, charged with charged with rape and murder, and rape and held without bail

He’d been free 10 years after serving 30 years in a California prison for a conviction for the armed robbery and murder of a drug dealer who was killed with a hammer and a firearm in 1983  

68-year-old John Michael Irmer walked into an FBI office in Portland in August and told agents he wanted to confess to several murders, notably the 43 year cold case rape and murder of Susan Marcia Rose in Boston, MA.

An Oregon man walked into an FBI office in Portland and confessed to the 43 year cold case murder of Susan Marcia Rose, a 24-year-old who was bludgeoned to death with a hammer inside an abandoned building in Boston the night before Halloween in 1979. 
68-year-old John Michael Irmer in August, 2022, told agents he wanted to confess to several murders. 
He couldn’t remember the name of Susan Rose he said, but described details of the grisly crime in an abandoned Back Bay building over four decades back. 
Rose was a native of Pennsylvania, had moved to Boston and was living on Dartmouth Street.
Irmer, who was 25 at the time of the murder, described meeting flame-haired Rose at an ice rink then going to ‘explore’ the building with her. 
Once inside, he raped her, then struck her with a hammer, he said, killing her instantly. Irmer told investigators that he fled to New York City following the murder.
According to the DA’s office, Rose died of multiple blunt injuries to the head, with fractures of the skull and lacerations of the brain. She had also been sexually assaulted. 
Corroborating the confession, investigators matched a DNA sample from Irmer to samples preserved from the murder scene.

Susan Marcia Rose, 24, was bludgeoned to death in an abandoned apartment building in Boston in October 1979. Her murder remained unsolved for 43 years until Irmer stepped up confession last month

Irmer revealed that he had actually been free for 10 years at the time after serving 30 years in a California prison for another homicide conviction. In 1983, Irmer was convicted of the armed robbery and murder of a drug dealer who was killed with a hammer and a firearm. 
His attorney claims his self-confession should be taken into consideration in his treatment in court.  
He also told cops that Rose was not his only victim. Investigators continue to probe the claim by the self confessed killer that there are more bodies.

The Back Bay building [photo], where Susan Rose was murdered in 1979. The case that had been cold for decades after the 1981 acquittal of another man who had been charged with the murder, received fresh impetus with last month’s confession  

Rose’s body was found during renovation of the Back Bay apartment building. There was blood spatter and brain matter found on the stairs of the building, and she had been struck multiple times in the head.
Investigations into the murder had been cold for decades after the 1981 acquittal of another man who had been charged with the murder.
In 2005, investigators compared DNA samples found at the scene to those of several persons of interest, but Irmer was not one of them. Apparently he’d moved to the West Coast shortly after the crime. 
The case had been cold for decades after the 1981 acquittal of another man who had been charged with the murder.  
After Irmer’s confession, authorities transported him from Oregon to Boston to face charges for the heinous acts.

Irmer who told investigators that there are more victims, hid behind a wall as he was arraigned for murder and rape in a Boston courtroom over the weekend 

On Monday, October 3, 2022, he was arraigned in court on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated rape. Irmer was ordered held without bail pending another hearing next month. His attorney did not fight bail, pointing to Irmer’s voluntary surrender. Arraigned in the courtroom in Boston, Irmer hid from news cameras, standing behind a wall with only one side of his face visible. 
He is due back in court on Oct. 17 for a probable cause hearing.   
Announcing his arraignment, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden said: ‘Nearly 44 years after losing her at such a young age, the family and friends of Susan Marcia Rose will finally have some answers. 
‘This was a brutal, ice-blooded murder made worse by the fact that a person was charged and tried — and fortunately, found not guilty — while the real murderer remained silent until now.’