Naman Shrestha
In 1992, when the principal of a Lancaster school paid a visit to the house of 25-year-old Christy Mirack, a teacher at his school, he was greeted with a horrifying sight of her lying dead on the floor of her residence. Suspects galore, but it took the authorities decades before capturing the right killer. In the episode titled ‘The School Teacher’ of A&E’s ‘Cold Case Files, the decades-spanning case is profiled in a detailed manner, from the circumstances surrounding the murder and the investigation that followed. Thanks to the interviews with the loved ones of the victim and the officials linked to the case, the viewers also gain knowledge of the impact Christy’s death left on her family and the community.
Christy Mirack Was Found Dead in Her Apartment by the School Principal
Christy Ann Mirack was a native of the town of Shamokin in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The beloved daughter of Vincent J. Mirack and Geraldine Kathleen Patrick Mirack, AKA Gerry, was born on November 3, 1967. In addition to her parents, she also had the support and love of her siblings and was particularly close to her brother, Vince Mirack. As a child, an energetic and enthusiastic Christy always aspired to become a teacher and put their chalkboard to use while pretending to be one while playing with her siblings. In order to fulfill that very dream, she enrolled herself at Millersville University in Lancaster and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and Teaching Students.
The free-spirited individual stayed determined to achieve her goal and the hard work resulted in her securing a job as a teacher at Rohrerstown Elementary School in Lancaster. At 25, Christy Mirack was thriving in her personal and professional life. The sixth-grade teacher was adored by everyone who knew her due to her affable nature, bright smile that could light up a room, and warmhearted personality. She was quite passionate about her profession and looked forward to educating and inspiring her students every day. Her world revolved around her family, friends, and students.
Little did anyone know she’d leave the world too soon. Around the time of her death, in late 1992, Christy had been a resident of East Lampeter Township on the outskirts of Lancaster County, wherein she shared an apartment with a roommate. On December 21, 1992, she began her day as usual. As she got ready and donned her coat and gloves to head out for work around 7 am, the young woman was attacked by an intruder. When the school teacher didn’t report to work on December 21, 1992, the principal grew worried and reached her residence.
He entered the living room only to be greeted by the horrific sight of an unresponsive Christy lying on the floor. When he called 911, the authorities rushed to the location and declared the 25-year-old dead. The police then proceeded to scour through the place to find shreds of evidence. Not far from her body, they found a chopping board, hinting at it being used to kill her. The autopsy reports revealed that Christy endured severe bruising and blunt force trauma to her back, neck, the upper portion of her chest as well as her face. The examiners determined she was sexually assaulted and strangled, with the latter being determined as the cause of her death.
Christy Mirack’s Killer Was Brought to Justice Almost Three Later
After the investigation was launched, the authorities delved deep into Christy Mirack’s personal life to find some leads and learned that she had been seeing a man 20 years older than her named “Dagger.” Even though her friends did not approve of their relationship, she continued dating him. However, just a couple of days before her demise, she told them that they might be separating. Thus, Dagger became one of the suspects in the case as he also visited her school to find out her whereabouts. Upon questioning, he had an airtight alibi as he was in Virginia at the time of Christy’s murder.
During the investigation, the detectives also suspected Harry Goodman, the principal of the school, who found Christy dead in her home. However, after confirming his alibi and learning that his DNA was not a match to the evidence found at the crime scene, they ruled him out as a suspect and focused on other leads. Due to a lack of technology and evidence, it turned into a cold case until 2018, when the case saw some major developments after nearly three decades. Thanks to the advanced genetic genealogy analysis technology, the investigators uploaded the killer’s DNA to GEDmatch in order to find his close relatives. So, a man named Raymond Rowe was found to be the most likely suspect after a genotype file for him was generated that included details about the killer’s physical characteristics and what he would look like at different ages.
To confirm their analysis, the detectives obtained Raymond’s DNA from a water bottle he used and chewing gum on May 31, 2018. The tests came out to be positive, as both the DNA samples were a perfect match. After the huge break in the case, the police dug deeper into Raymond Rowe, a local DJ AKA DJ Freeze, but could not find any connection to the victim. However, his day job was quite close to Christy’s apartment, making it convenient for him to drive by the apartment. So, on June 25, 2018, Raymond Rowe was taken into custody at his Wittier Lane home and charged with the murder of Christy
Raymond Rowe AKA “DJ Freeze” is Incarcerated at a Pennsylvania Jail
After the arrest, Raymond Rowe ended up agreeing to a plea deal for first-degree murder, rape, and related counts regarding the next year and received a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole in addition to 60 to 120 years behind bars. Later, he reverted his statement and denied participating in the murder of Christy, claiming that someone else might have broken into her house and murdered her after he left. During the trial, he addressed her family, especially her father, and stated, “I can’t imagine what you are going through. I apologize…”
After the sentencing, Raymond requested DNA testing of five items found at the crime scene, such as a cutting board, a toaster, a pair of pants, a sweater, and an undershirt found near the victim. However, the court denied his appeals and upheld his conviction. Currently, Raymond Rowe is being held at State Correctional Institution – Waymart as he serves his long-term sentence.
