Homicide victim identified nearly 50 years after remains were found

New Jersey State Police have identified the victim in a nearly 50-year-old homicide using advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy, though the killing itself remains unsolved.

Authorities say the victim is Robert Dean Irelan, whose body was found in a wooded area of rural Salem County in 1979.

His identity had remained unknown for decades until a renewed investigation led to a breakthrough.

According to state police, Irelan's body was discovered in June 1979 with a gunshot wound to the head in a wooded area off Jericho Road in Quinton Township.
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