Oregon man to be arraigned for 1979 Back Bay murder

BOSTON, September 11, 2023 – An Oregon man is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court Central Division Monday for the murder and rape of a 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman in a Back Bay apartment building in October 1979, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

JOHN MICHAEL IRMER, 68, was transported from Portland to Boston this weekend by Boston Police detectives.  He will be charged with murdering Susan Marcia Rose on October 30, 1979.

Last month Irmer walked into the Portland FBI field office and volunteered to agents that he met a woman with red hair at a skating rink around Halloween in Boston in1979.  Irmer said the two walked into 285 Beacon Street, which was under renovation at the time.  Irmer said that shortly after the two entered the building he grabbed a nearby hammer and struck the woman on the head, killing her. He then raped her. Irmer said he fled to New York the next day.

Investigators verified that Susan Marcia Rose, who had red hair, was found murdered at 285 Beacon Street on October 30, 1979.  The cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt injuries of the head with fractures of the skull and lacerations of the brain. Investigators retrieved a DNA sample from Irmer, which proved to be a match with DNA samples preserved from the murder scene.

Rose moved to Boston from Johnstown, Pennsylvania and was living on Dartmouth Street at the time of her death.  A man was tried and found not guilty of Rose’s murder in June 1981. 

“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. No matter how cold cases get resolved, it’s always the answers that are important for those who have lived with grief and loss and so many agonizing questions,” Hayden said.

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communcations