After nearly three decades, a Bridgewater homicide finally has a resolution, authorities said.
Robert Creter, 61, pleaded guilty on Monday, May 19, in the 1997 death of Tamara "Tammy" Tignor, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said. Creter pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in state prison, authorities said.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1997 at 4:38 p.m., Bridgewater police responded to Gilbride Road near Washington Valley Park where they found Tignor, a 23-year-old Newark resident, dead, authorities said.
The case remained unsolved until 2023, when it was discovered evidence collected in the investigation could be resubmitted for DNA testing, which was not previously possible, authorities said.
in April 2023, a search of the Combined DNA Index System by members of the New Jersey State Police Laboratory's Office of Forensic Science generated a high-stringency match for Creter.
Law enforcement investigated Creter, who had relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2002. Charges were filed against him in May 2023, with prosecutors working with the State Department to adhere to the legal process of serving him with a criminal complaint in Canada, authorities said.
Last June, Creter was taken into custody by Canadian authorities and in November, he was extradited back to the United States, authorities said.
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