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Discovery+'s upcoming true-crime special, Unraveled: Once a Killer, is all set to give viewers answers to some infamous unsolved murders like Christy Mirack's.
The upcoming series will be hosted by Alexis Linkletter and Billy Jensen, and is set to investigate and discuss the monumental progress made in solving cases since the breakthrough of DNA genealogy.
Who was Christy Mirack and what happened to her?
Christy Mirack, a 25-year-old teacher at Lancaster Country Elementary School, was r*ped, beaten and strangled to death in her apartment in 1992. She was found dead by her school principal hours later, with bruises on her arms and a broken jaw.
Before her death, she was known to be a high-spirited and devoted teacher, whose life centered around her students, family and her close-knit group of friends from college. These are also the same set of friends she had been out dancing with less than 48 hours prior to her death.
How was Christy Mirack murdered?
Christy Mirack was found wearing gloves, which made investigators believe that she was about to leave the house when the killer pushed her back inside and attacked her.
They also found a wooden cutboard next to her body, which was believed to be a weapon used to attack her. This also led them to think that the killer was someone emotional and disorganized.
As part of further investigation, the police began to pore through her personal life and learned that she had been dating an older man, known by the name Dagger, president of the local Teamsters.
What left the police speechless was that the crime was committed during daylight hours, within a roughly 45-minute window between Christy's usual time of work and her roommate's standard time to leave for work. This meant that the perpetrator had been watching Christy or was someone who knew her schedule.
About her case
Sadly, due to lack of evidence and no leads, her case went cold. It wasn't until a few years back that investigators decided to use emerging DNA technology that helped them determine the genetic phenotype of the killer.
In 2016, with the help of Parabon NanoLabs, investigators were able to learn that her killer was a mix of Latino and European descent, further creating a sketch of what it may look like. However, the sketch was of no help, and recently, thanks to advancements in genetic genealogy, they were able to identify the killer through public DNA database searches.
The suspected killer was identified as a popular local DJ, Raymond Rowe, who often worked under the name DJ Freeze and did not have any actual connections to Christy. However, he did work as a DJ at some popular clubs around that time, which made investigators think that the two may have known each other and he frequently drove by her apartment.
It was then confirmed that Raymond's DNA matched the evidence left behind at the crime scene. He pleaded guilty to the r*pe and murder of Christy Mirack in 2019, but tried to withdraw his plea in 2021.
Learn more about this murder on Discovery+'s upcoming series Unraveled: Once a Killer, releasing Aprill 22.
