Overview
- Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center named the long-unknown victim as Robert Dean Irelan using DNA-based family tracing.
- Troopers found him shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave in Quinton Township, Salem County, during the winter of 1978–1979.
- The case, reopened in March 2023, advanced when match lists from Family Tree DNA and Match List Pro let researchers build his family tree.
- Investigators say he lived in Pleasantville and spent time in Atlantic City, details that helped steer the search.
- Police have notified his relatives and are urging tips, noting his distinctive clothes including a blue Lee jacket with a gold “R” and cross, white painter’s pants, a plaid shirt, Pro-Keds, and a black-and-white pullover.