Victim in 40-year-old New Jersey cold case identified, suspect charged with murder
BLAIRSTOWN, New Jersey (WABC) -- The victim in a previously unsolved 40-year-old cold case murder has been identified and a suspect charged, authorities in New Jersey announced Friday.
The Warren County Prosecutor's Office said Friday that the victim in the July 1982 homicide -- previously dubbed Princess Doe -- is 17-year-old Dawn Olanick, of West Babylon, Long Island.
They also announced that 68-year-old Arthur Kinlaw is now charged with murder in the case.
Kinlaw, currently serving 20 years to life in Sullivan County on two first-degree murder convictions, tried to lure Olanick into prostitution and killed her after she refused, authorities said.
Olanick's body was found on July 15, 1982, behind Cedar Ridge Cemetery on Highway 94 in Blairstown Township near the Pennsylvania border.
Authorities have said she was beaten beyond recognition.
Authorities said she had been deceased for less than a week prior to being found and was believed to be between 15 and 20 years of age.
Residents of the area gave her a burial, and she became known as Princess Doe, a name given to her by investigators who sought to identify her.
Her burial site contains a gravestone that reads: "Princess Doe. Missing from home. Dead among strangers. Remembered by all."
Olanick's identity was finally confirmed April 29, authorities said.
"For 40 years, law enforcement has not given up on Princess Doe," Warren County Prosecutor James Pfeiffer said Friday during a news conference with New Jersey State Police and other law enforcement and assisting agencies.
Kinlaw confessed to the Princess Doe slaying in written statements dating to 2005, authorities revealed Friday. But the prosecutor said that determining the victim's identity was crucial to assembling a solid case.
The victim's family was present at the announcement.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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