The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected an appeal by convicted murderer James Cruz, bringing closure to a case now almost 30 years old.

In March of 1993, a passing motorist found the partially clad body of a deceased 17 year old woman along a roadway in Spring Township, Centre County. Her wrists had been bound tightly with yellow rope, and a piece of that same rope had been drawn fast around her neck, causing her death by ligature strangulation. The trail of evidence would eventually lead investigators to the state of Maine, where the victim had lived, to the state of Ohio, where police arrested cross-country trucker James Cruz for the murder.

Former Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar prosecuted the case against Cruz, winning a conviction of first degree murder after a lengthy trial in June of 1994. Gricar’s evidence included testimony by an FBI microscopic hair comparison analyst that a hair found underneath the ligature matched Cruz’s hair, and hair found in Cruz’s truck matched the victim’s hair.

In a press release dated April 20, 2015, the FBI disclosed that an investigation undertaken jointly by the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Innocence Project, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers determined that there had been widespread error in the conclusions of FBI microscopic hair comparison analysts prior to 2000. Based on this press release, Cruz filed a motion for a new trial in September of 2015 alleging that he had been convicted on the basis of erroneous microscopic hair comparison testimony.

After approximately 6½ years of litigation on Cruz’s motion, the Superior Court determined that the analyst had not committed the errors alleged by Cruz. On February 15, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to review the Superior Court’s ruling. Cruz’s life sentence remains undisturbed.

The District Attorney’s Office is grateful to the dedicated professionals, past and present, responsible for holding Cruz accountable for the 1993 murder. The closure of this case represents an important success in the history of the District Attorney’s Office. Please contact First Assistant District Attorney Sean McGraw for further information, 814-355-6735 or smcgraw@centreda.org.