After 22 years the Suzanne Nauman murder was solved by police. The case enhances the significance of cold case investigation. Due to the advances in technology and forensics, police solved a murder case of a girl that happened in 1995. Let’s have a look at what was this case and who was the Suzanne Nauman killer.
Suzanne Nauman Life
There is no doubt that She was only 17 years old and her brutal murder is a tragedy. She was a very young beautiful girl living on the streets of Schenectady. However, she became cocaine addicted. Furthermore, she started prostitution to get money to fulfill her addiction to cocaine.
On the other hand, she also had a boyfriend whose name was Keith Gavreau. He was also a cocaine addicted. But, he was possessive about his relationship with Nauman. Additionally, he also fights with her or scolds her not to do prostitution to get money.
She never heard him and continued her prostitution for the sake of money. He always becomes angry whenever Nauman goes with other men. His angry attitude made him a prime suspect for police after the brutal murder of Suzanne Nauman. Overall, the condition of Suzanne’s life was not good.
What Happened on 30th May 1995?
On 30th May 1995 Suzanne’s dead body was found near the corner of the Schenectady’s Municipal Golf Course driving range.
Moreover, her body was almost unclothed and bloodied. In addition to this, the cruel killer stuffed her mouth with leaves and brush to suppress Nauman’s screams. A shoelace was tightly tied around her neck that the killer used to strangle this young girl. Furthermore, human bite marks on her chest were proof of the cruelty of that evil killer.
Rober Carney, assistant district attorney of that time thought that they can easily solve this Suzzane Nauman murder case. However, this case remained unsolved for more than two decades. They never get a trace of evil the murder of Suzzanne Nauman up till 22 years.
Investigation of the Suzanne Nauman’s Murder Case
No doubt in 1995 and several more years’ police investigate to get a clue about Nauman’s killer. At that time, one of the Nauman’s drugs fellow said that Gavreau threatened Suzanne that he will do something bad with her because of her prostitution.
Due to this reason, police focus on Gavreau who was the prime suspect in Suzanne’s murder. But all in vain, the case remained unsolved without any lead of the murderer.
Moreover, all the shreds of evidence that police collected from the Nauman murder scene were not matched with Keith Gavreau. The laceless shoe found at the murder site was 8.5 in size and the shoe size of the Gavreau is 11.
In addition to this, the bite marks found on Suzanne’s body were also not matched with Gavreau. So, the police never presented this case to the jury.
Fruitful Re-Investigation of the Suzzane Nauman’s Murder Cold Case
As we mentioned above that the murder case remained unsolved for 22 years after the death of Nauman’s death.
On Monday, 16th October 2016 Carney, the district attorney announced that Nauman’s cold case finally cracked.
Carney declared in a press conference, “We conclude that Stanislaw Maciag murdered Suzanne Nauman on May 30th, 1995”
In addition to this, he explained how latest DNA technology helped them to solve this murder mystery after 22 years.
Furthermore, the statement of one fellow drug-addicted Nauman pointed out that Gavreau threatened Suzanne. In addition to this, on the night of the murder Gavreau was with Suzanne as per the statements of their drug fellows.
However, Gavreau said that she went with one man in a car. On the other hand, all pieces of evidence of the murder site were not matched with him. Police arrest him in another murder case, but they didn’t get any evidence that connects him with Nauman murder.
On the other side, someone murdered a Polish immigrant with a criminal sexual assault record. Her name was Phyllis Harvey. She was living in Schenectady on Lansing street. Due to this case, in 1996 police arrested Stanislaw Maciag for Harvey’s murder.
Furthermore, she was also a prostitute, and murder strategy was the same as the police saw Nauman murder. The killer strangled her with a string in the same style. Moreover, his shoe size is also 8.5.
During his imprisonment in 1997, Stanislaw Maciag hung himself in his cell with a bed sheet. Carney said, “Before taking his own life, he reportedly told another inmate, ‘I’ve done a lot of bad things and I have to pay”.
Moreover, after the death of Maciag, he was not officially tied to the murder case of Nauman until 2016.
Re-Investigation Started
When the police reopen the case file no one knew that Suzanne Nauman Phyllis Harvey cases are interconnected. Re-investigation of this cold case started, then new things come under the spotlight.
When the DNA evidence collected from the nails of the Suzanne was newly analyzed then things become clear. The sample matched with the DNA samples of the family members of Maciag.
In addition to this, police exhume the body of Maciag and match the DNA samples with his remains. Moreover, the Maciag corpse’s bite profile also matched with teeth marks found on Nauman’s chest. The Suzanne Nauman obituary clearly shows everything to the public.
Carney said:
“This is an example of the value of cold case investigations. Murder is an ultimate insult to a community, and we should never forget any murder, of any individual.”
In addition to all this, Schenectady police also added a note with this announcement. They said that Roy Edwardsen detective worked a lot on Nauman’s case. Even, at the time of his retirement, he told friends that he wishes to buy a headstone for Nauman’s burial site if the killer was ever found.
“Tragically, detective Edwardsen was killed in a motorcycle accident in June 2014,” Schenectady police chief Eric Clifford said. “For that, we are sorry – that he will never know we were able to solve this.”
Furthermore, Carney also said that they informed the Suzzane Nauman family members and Suzanne Nauman mother. On the other side, they informed the Maciag family also. However, they never shared the news and updates about the statements of their surviving family members.
Final Verdict
There is no doubt that crime never pays in a good way. Maciag, the murderer of Nauman and Harvey choose his path and took his life. Therfore, he pays for his sins in this way. He always says to his prison fellows that he did several bad things and that he should pay for them.
Moreover, we can’t deny the importance of a good investigation and Suzanne Nauman Lagrange. Also, the facts about the Suzanne Nauman case are quite surprising. Moreover, the re-investigation of the Suzanne Nauman Schenectady ny case brings new insights. New technology and analysis procedures helped the police a lot in this case. After this police came to know that Phyllis Harvey Suzanne Nauman cases have the same killer.