50 Years After Young Woman's Remains Found, Her Family Finally Has Answers

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The second-oldest cold case in Howard County — involving the murder of a 20-year-old woman in 1975 at the hands of a man in prison for other murders — has been solved, authorities said Tuesday.

When Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der addressed the group gathered at a news conference Tuesday, he started by saying he was grateful he could bring closure to the family of Roseann "Ann" Sturtz, who was reported missing Aug. 24, 1975.

"They're a strong group of people and, like any family, they still grieve her senseless death.
She was loved and continues to be loved. It's my hope that this brings them some closure after suffering for nearly 50 years," Der said. "Evidence is lost. Witnesses die and you reach a dead end, but in this case, Cpl. Wade Zufall's tireless work paid off. We got justice for Ann and her family."

Sturtz's body was found Dec. 15, 1975, in a wooded area off Route 108 in Columbia. It was determined that she had suffered trauma to her body that led to her death. Detectives believe Charles William Davis Jr. met Sturtz at a local bar on Aug. 24, 1975, assaulted her and dumped her body in the woods.

Although Davis has been incarcerated at the Jessup Correctional Institution since 1978, where he's serving three life sentences for murders, it wasn't until 2024 that cold case detectives uncovered lost evidence that implicated him in Sturtz's death.

Detectives found a letter from the state’s attorney of Howard County at that time giving Davis full immunity from prosecution to discuss the case. That led to a 1981 audio recording of Howard County Police detectives interviewing Davis, in which he provided details of Sturtz’s murder.

Davis was unable to positively identify Sturtz (who went by Ann) in a high school photo shown to him during the 1981 interview, and the case remained open for nearly 44 years. Late last year, Zufall re-interviewed Davis, showing him a different photo of Sturtz that more closely resembled her at the time of her murder when she was 20. He then was able to obtain a confession from Davis.

“In November 2024, we were grateful to have all the case details, learned Roseann’s actual date of death and receive the closure we have been praying for all these years — finally put to rest the answers we never had,” Sturtz’s four sisters said in a statement that was read at the news conference. “Now in 2025, almost 50 years later, we have closure and would like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the Howard County Police Department and Cpl. Wade Zufall for working so diligently on Roseann’s cold case, bringing Roseann and our family the peace we deserved. The sympathy, kindness, respect, and warmth that was shown to us over these past few months will be forever in our hearts.”

Current Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson reaffirmed the immunity given to Davis in 1981, so he cannot be charged in Sturtz’s murder.

“This is our second-oldest cold case, and its closure makes clear that we will never rest in our pursuit of justice,” Der said at the news conference. “We are fortunate to have an excellent team working on cold cases, led by Cpl. Zufall, that is going through every case with a fine-tooth comb. And in this instance, their diligence paid off. We can now bring closure to Ann’s family, even 50 years later.”

“Today is a day of remembrance, closure and justice. This moment is not just about solving a case, it’s about honoring Ann’s life, providing her family with long-overdue answers, and seeking justice, no matter how much time has passed,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at the news conference.

All open cold cases are listed on the HCPD website. There currently are 24 homicide cold cases in Howard County. Anyone with information on any of these cases is eligible for a reward of up to $30,000 and should contact police at 410-313-STOP or HCPDCrimeTips@howardcountymd.gov.

“That means 24 families are still waiting for justice. Let today serve as a message to them: We will not stop searching for answers,” Ball said.