Horrific 1984 sex murder of girl, 15, finally solved after police dig up prime suspect’s body
Reesa Dawn Trexler's 1984 rape and murder has been solved by DNA - but her murderer Curtis Edward Blair died 15 years ago
A 1984 cold case murder of a teenage girl who was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death has finally been solved – but the killer has already died.
Reesa Dawn Trexler, 15, was found dead after being stabbed 18 times with such much force that the blade broke off in her shoulder. Her corpse was discovered on the floor of her bedroom in Salisbury, North Carolina in June 1984.
Authorities announced that the case has been closed on Tuesday morning. However, their suspect, Curtis Edward Blair, died in San Diego California in 2004.
Police did not name Blair or mention him at the press conference, but a search warrant showed his remains were exhumed in June and his DNA was collected, according to WBTV.
Investigators used advancements in DNA technology to analyze a swab from a sexual assault kit taken from the crime scene to create a DNA profile.
Based on the genetic, genealogical and circumstantial evidence, Blaire was named a ‘very strong candidate to be the subject of the unidentified male extracted DNA profile,’ according to court documents.
Reesa had reportedly been home alone when she was murdered. Her grandfather had been at the grocery store and his wife was at the hairdresser.
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There were no signs of forced entry into the home, nor was anything stolen. Reesa was found nude, but was still wearing a bracelet, watch and ring.
No arrests were made in the case of Reesa’s death, although family members were rumored to be suspects in the decades after the teen’s death, especially her sister, Jodie Trexler Laird, who was 13 years old at the time of Reesa’s death.
Laird’s appearance on the ‘The Dr Phil Show’ in 2018 reportedly sparked new interest in the case after Laird, now in her 40s, passed a polygraph test on the TV show.
On Tuesday, Salisbury Police Sergeant Travis Shulenburger said: ‘We would like to say that Jodie (Laird) has been completely exonerated in this case and the suspect has no connection to Trexler or Monroe Family.’
Reesa’s mother, Vickie Oakes, told WBTV that she never thought her daughter’s murder would be solved.
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‘No, I did not, we did not. I did not think it would come,’ she said.
‘I just lived with the fact that it was not going to be solved. So many nights laying on the be wondering and wondering and wondering and maybe now I can sleep.’
Blair’s remains have reportedly been brought back to Salisbury, where he has been reburied in the City Memorial Park.