Man Charged in 1992 South End Murder

Photo Credit: Boston Police Department

After over twenty years of investigating, a man was indicted Thursday on murder charges connected to the 1992 death of a Tufts University graduate.

Lena Bruce, 21, of Philadelphia, was killed in Boston’s South End neighborhood shortly after graduation day, according to the Suffolk County’s District Attorney’s office. Bruce was found dead in her apartment by her roommate on July 12, 1992.

“Despite an extensive investigation by police and prosecutors in the days and weeks that followed, there were no witnesses and no leads,” District Attorney Daniel Conley said. Despite their best efforts, Lena’s murder went unsolved – until now.”

James Witkowski, 42, was charged by a grand jury with first-degree murder, Conley announced. Witkowski is already serving time for an assault and battery conviction at the Suffolk County House of Correction.

Witkowski allegedly entered Bruce’s apartment through an open window, tied her up with a telephone cord, sexually assaulted her, and then suffocated her, Conley said of the murder.

DNA which had been preserved for decades helped investigators solve the puzzling case. A wallet recovered from Bruce’s apartment had one of Witkowski’s fingerprints on it.

“The Crime Lab re-tested evidence – including a wallet found outside Lena Bruce’s building on the night her body was discovered. Inside was one slip of paper with one fingerprint that the BPD Latent Print Unit matched to Witkowski’s left thumb,” Conley said.

Both Bruce’s mother and father passed away before the case could be resolved.

“It’s a sad day that her parents are not around to hear it,” Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said.