A South Carolina man suspected of slaying a beloved Hudson Valley hospital employee killed himself simply days after police confronted him concerning the 25-year chilly case.
Alleged killer Robert Younger was linked to the stabbing demise of 32-year-old Nancy Smith because of a single strand of hair inside her New Windsor dwelling, the place she was discovered useless in December 2001, in keeping with police.
Investigators tracked down 1,000 leads, interviewed quite a few individuals and performed forensic opinions over greater than 20 years, however solely cracked the case on account of “unimaginable” developments in DNA expertise, New Windsor Chief Daniel Valeri mentioned Friday.
Smith, who was remembered as a doting aunt with a heat smile, was found by her mother and father on Dec. 5, 2001 after she didn’t report back to work at Horton Hospital in Middletown.
“Whereas I keep in mind my sister along with her lovely smile, my mother and father’ final picture of their youngster was lined in blankets, useless on her lounge flooring,” Smith’s sister Barbara Stolfe mentioned throughout a press convention Thursday, in keeping with CBS 2.
The probe stalled till 2023 when improved DNA expertise inspired detectives to submit beforehand collected proof for additional testing, in keeping with New Windsor police.
The evaluation led native police and FBI brokers to Myrtle Seaside, the place they lawfully scooped up a DNA pattern of somebody presumably linked to the case, authorities mentioned.
Younger’s DNA was obtained throughout state strains and the proof — a strand of hair collected on the crime scene — was a match, Valeri mentioned.
“It’s unimaginable,” he mentioned in an interview. “I’m positive that the investigators on the time by no means thought that it might have come to that single strand of hair, however because the DNA expertise superior through the years that’s precisely what occurred.”
Younger was interviewed in April 2026 by native police, New York State Police and the FBI, however insisted he wasn’t concerned, police mentioned.
Investigators returned to New York and began working with prosecutors to map out subsequent steps, however was informed by South Caroline authorities shortly after the interview that Younger died by suicide, regulation enforcement mentioned.
It stays unclear what the motive behind the deadly stabbing was, however police officers mentioned they have been assured the proof exhibits Younger was behind the homicide.
It’s believed the suspect and sufferer met at a music venue in Poughkeepsie, in keeping with the Occasions-Union.
“We by no means stopped pursuing proof on this case, following leads and using developments in forensic expertise in an effort to advance this investigation and supply long-awaited solutions for Nancy and her household,” Chief Valeri mentioned in a press release.
Smith was a graduate of Newburgh Free Academy and earned a level from SUNY Oneonta and MPA from Marist School, in keeping with a memorial web page.
She labored in Horton Hospital’s managed care workplace earlier than her demise.
The one surviving member of Smith’s rapid household is her sister, Stolfe, after their mother and father died in 2024.
“Folks say there’s closure. In a bit of it, there’s closure,” Stolfe mentioned, in keeping with ABC 7. “There’s reduction and there’s a bit of little bit of peace,.”
Smith’s 2-year-old nephew all the time requested the place his aunt was following her violent demise.
“We’d go to my mother’s home. [He’d ask,] ‘Why isn’t Naynay right here? She doesn’t love us anymore?’” Stolfe mentioned, in keeping with CBS 2.
“What do you inform a 2-year-old? I informed him {that a} monster took Naynay away.”
