Hiding In Plain Sight? How An Asbury Park Murder Case Slipped By

ASBURY PARK – The suspect in a nearly 30-year-old murder case may have been literally hiding in plain sight for nearly 30 years. And he did it even though he was apparently only blocks away.

But somehow, authorities couldn't get to the Asbury Park man who was allegedly responsible for the brutal murder Christa Engel, also of Asbury Park, in 1991.

Her body was found near the Asbury Park Boardwalk under a ramp, prosecutors said. Even though he was apparently nearby at the time, prosecutors apparently didn't know for sure that Clarence W. Turnage had anything to do with it.

Until recently.

Finally, this past week, Turnage's DNA was linked to Engel, who had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office announced on Friday. Even though Turnage died in 2014, authorities expressed a sense of relief that there was finally a break in the case.

The prosecutor's office said the case was solved after new DNA evidence testing provided the "crucial break," Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.

The investigation began March 27, 1991, when the Asbury Park Police Department contacted the prosecutor’s office after a woman was found under a ramp near the Asbury Park Boardwalk, according to the office.

Police were notified of the body’s location at 7:37 a.m., and officers responded to secure the scene near Fourth Avenue, the office said.

Even though the victim was believed to be Engel, no next of kin were located at that time to confirm her identity, the office said.

The medical examiner later concluded Engel had been severely beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled, the office said.

During the early stages of the case, detectives obtained items of evidence connected to the investigation. DNA profiles from the victim’s body, stockings, slip and dress were retained and tested, the prosecutor's office said.

While a suspect was initially developed and charged, he was later cleared when it was determined his DNA did not match the original subject’s DNA profile, prosecutors said.

In 2001, the prosecutor's office reopened the case after discovering that DNA samples from the victim’s body and clothing could be resubmitted and tested, prosecutors said.

Certain evidence from the victim then was submitted to the New Jersey State Police lab for analysis. The prosecutor's office was later notified that a potential match was obtained from the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, submittal.

CODIS is a national DNA database maintained by the FBI first established in the early 1990s and is used to identify possible suspects of a crime.

CODIS identified a DNA contributor as Turnage, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said.

In January 2018, prosecutors announced the creation of a dedicated Cold Case Unit to focus exclusively on older, unsolved homicide cases. The unit is staffed by an experienced assistant prosecutor and two detectives, and the Engel homicide was one of several cases selected for immediate review, the office said.

Thereafter, investigators spent months reviewing case files, various public records and DNA analysis of the victim, ultimately confirming that Engel was born in West Germany with a given name of Christa Dierolf, the office said.

It was determined that she changed her name to Christa Engel after marrying Seymour Engel in 1961. The couple married in Passaic and later moved to Asbury Park, the office said.

In 2018, in light of the more recent advances and innovations in DNA testing technology, the prosecutor's office resubmitted DNA evidence from the 1991 Engel homicide to Bode Technology, a private forensic laboratory.

To confirm the earlier CODIS hit, the prosecutor's office obtained consent to exhume Turnage’s corpse to obtain a DNA sample so Bode could perform a direct comparison, prosecutors said.

In February 2019, Bode’s forensic testing confirmed that Turnage was the contributor of DNA profiles obtained from the victim’s dress, stockings and body. These three profiles were not tested in 1991 when the case was originally under investigation, the prosecutor's office said.

At the time of the homicide, Turnage resided about 300 yards from where Engel’s body was found, and one block from the Carlton Hotel where Engel was living at the time, the office said.

In August 2019, the prosecutor's office asked that the original suspect’s DNA be compared to DNA from the victim’s slip and the dress. Requests were not made for the stocking or swabs to be tested since the FBI had excluded the original suspect as a contributor from these items in 1991, the prosecutor's office said.

Subsequent lab testing by Bode confirmed the exclusion of the original suspect as the major contributor on the dress and slip, the office said.

In January, the prosecutor's office unsuccessfully attempted to reaffirm the identity of the victim as Engel since investigators have been unable to identify any next of kin.

It is hoped that with the release of this information and conclusion of the investigation, a family member of Engel may come forward, the office said.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is closing the case as solved with no prosecution, since the accused is deceased.

Still, anyone with any information pertaining to this case can contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective John Leibfried at 732-431-7160.