The 2001 murder of Nancy Smith of New Windsor has been solved, New Windsor police announced May 28.
But there will be no prosecution because the alleged suspect died by suicide shortly after being interviewed by investigators in April.
On Dec. 5, 2001, Smith was found dead on the floor of her home on Provost Drive. That triggered an investigation that continued for almost 25 years, but for many of those years it led to no resolution.
In early 2023, following advances in DNA technology and forensic investigative methods, New Windsor police submitted previously collected evidence for new analysis.
In February 2024, investigators from the New Windsor police and the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and lawfully obtained a DNA sample from a person who had been identified through that analysis.
That sample was submitted to the state police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany. The FIC determined that the DNA was consistent with DNA collected from the Provost Drive crime scene.
After further investigation, in April 2026 investigators from New Windsor police, state police and the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force traveled to Myrtle Beach to interview the person from whom the DNA was obtained, identified as Robert Young, 58.
He denied any involvement in the homicide.
Shortly after returning to New York, investigators were notified that Young had been found dead in his apartment. Local authorities determined that his death was a suicide.
While no prosecution will take place as a result, investigators believe substantial evidence was developed identifying Young as the person responsible for Smith’s death.
More than 40 investigators worked on the case over nearly 25 years, and nearly 1,000 leads were generated during that time.
No motive for Smith’s murder has ever been offered by police.
Her parents, Lenore and Ed Smith, who discovered her body, both died in 2024.
“We never stopped pursuing evidence in this case, following leads, and utilizing advancements in forensics technology in an effort to advance this investigation and provide long-awaited answers for Nancy and her family,” New Windsor Police Chief Daniel Valeri said in a statement.
“On behalf of the Town Board and the residents of our town, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to every law enforcement agency, investigator, detective, forensic specialist and support staff member who dedicated themselves to this investigation over the course of nearly 25 years,” added New Windsor Town Supervisor Stephen Bedetti.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: 25-year search for Nancy Smith’s killer ends in suspect’s suicide
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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