Event Dime

Nearly 50 years later, DNA helps identify teen found slain in Salem County

When:

June 4, 2026 · 11:45 AM

Source:

Philadelphia weather forecast – NBC10 Philadelphia

A cold case murder dating back nearly 50 years in New Jersey has been partially solved. New Jersey State Police investigators have identified a teenager whose remains were discovered in a shallow grave in Salem County in 1979. However, detectives are still trying to determine who killed him and why. For decades, Robert Dean Irelan was known only as a John Doe. “They had no identification found on the victim. He was wearing some clothes that had an initial on his jacket,” Detective Sgt. John Mena