DNA breakthrough helps solve 'brutal' 24-year-old homicide case in New Windsor
Authorities say a single strand of hair and advances in DNA technology led investigators to a suspect in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina nearly 25 years after Nancy Smith was murdered.
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New Windsor police say advances in DNA technology and forensic genealogy helped investigators finally solve a 24-year-old homicide case.
Police were joined Thursday by federal, state and local investigators who worked the case over the years to announce they believe Robert Young, 58, was responsible for Nancy Smith’s death.
Police say Smith, 32, was found dead inside her New Windsor home following a brutal killing in December 2001 after her parents went to check on her when she failed to show up for work at Horton Hospital.
“For almost a quarter of a century, generations of investigators worked tirelessly,” Police Chief Daniel Valeri said Thursday. “Never allowing the case to truly go cold."
Investigators say the case remained active for decades, with detectives continuing to pursue leads and evidence over the years. According to Valeri, a single strand of hair collected at the crime scene was re-submitted for advanced DNA testing in early 2023.
“Additional forensic and genealogical investigative techniques generated new leads for investigators to pursue,” Valeri said.
Authorities say the investigative breakthroughs led them to Young for the first time in the decades-old case, despite having followed hundreds of leads over the years.
Investigators traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where Young was living, in February 2024 to collect a DNA sample from him and continued coordinating investigative interviews across four states — New York, Connecticut, Florida and South Carolina.
Police say they learned Young lived in Dutchess County, played at The Chance Theater in multiple bands and knew Smith through the local music scene.
Authorities say they returned to South Carolina in April 2026 following a multistate investigation conducted in collaboration with New York State Police and the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force.
Police say Young denied any involvement in the homicide, but shortly afterward, investigators learned Young had been found dead by local authorities, who determined the death was a suicide.
Young died before any charges could formally be filed, and investigators still do not know the motive behind the killing.
Smith’s sister attended Thursday’s emotional news conference, telling reporters the family is relieved to finally have answers after nearly 25 years. She described her as a kind and accomplished woman who loved listening to live music with friends, had recently earned her master’s degree and owned her own home at the time of her death.
“We have an answer, and we are relieved with that,” she said. “We are at peace, knowing that he can’t hurt another person and destroy another family.”
She also said their parents died last year without ever learning who killed their daughter.
“I wish my parents had been able to hear that as well,” Smith’s sister said after investigators described how witnesses remembered Nancy as a wonderful person.
Officials say they hope the resolution brings a long-awaited sense of closure to Smith’s family and the community.
