The Fraternal Order of Police recently honored a Lancaster County prosecutor and two detectives for their investigative work in the murder of Christy Mirack, a 25-year-old schoolteacher killed 27 years ago in her East Lampeter Township home.
In separate ceremonies, the FOP issued Legion of Merit Awards to Assistant District Attorney Christine L. Wilson and Lancaster County Detectives Christopher Erb and Larry Martin.
The work of ADA Wilson and Detectives Erb and Martin assisted in the arrest and conviction of Raymond Rowe – known in the community as “DJ Freez.”
Rowe pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder, rape, and related counts regarding the Dec. 21, 1992, killing of Mirack that went unsolved until DNA evidence revealed Rowe as the killer. Rowe was charged in June of 2018.
A number of law-enforcement agencies investigated the case before the Lancaster County Detectives, who work under the District Attorney, took over jurisdiction in 2016.
From there, ADA Wilson and Detectives Erb and Martin were assigned with working the case.
A major break came from Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, whose genetic genealogy work uncovered Rowe as the likely donor of DNA left on Mirack’s body.
An undercover operation at one of Rowe’s disc jockey gigs produced a sample of Rowe’s DNA – which matched the samples on file from the murder scene.
The FOP recognized ADA Wilson and Detectives Erb and Martin’s many hours of commitment to the investigation and ensuing conviction – only the second murder conviction in United States history involving the cutting-edge genetic genealogy evidence.
FOP Red Rose Lodge No. 16, the local chapter which provided the honors, is an organization that promotes police legislation and the interests of police officers in Lancaster County and across the country.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright
