The Murder of Rita Curran

On July 20, 1971, at around 1:30 am, 24-year-old Rita Curran was found dead in her bedroom. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten in the head, and strangled. It was estimated that Rita was killed at around midnight on July 19. For decades, Rita’s murder went unsolved. Then, in February 2023, a DNA match led detectives to Rita’s killer: William DeRoos. 

Research by Haley Gray with Haley Gray Research. 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Are you still cooking with pans made out of plastic? Head to GreenPan.us and use promo code MOMS and you’ll receive 30% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER plus free shipping on orders over $99.  

New merch! Check out Moms and Mysteries Threadless! You can also get new episodes a day early and ad free, plus merch and more at Patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast

Listen and subscribe to Melissa’s other podcast, Criminality!! It’s the podcast for those who love reality TV, true crime, and want to hear all the juicy stories where the two genres intersect. Subscribe and listen here: www.pod.link/criminality 

Check-out Moms and Mysteries to find links to our tiktok, youtube, twitter, instagram and more!

Make sure you subscribe and rate our show to help others find us!

To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/MomsandMysteriesATrueCrimePodcast

 Sources: 

1. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/28/police-say-modern-techniques-reviving-1971-vermont/

2. https://vsp.vermont.gov/unsolved/homicide/curran

3. https://www.news10.com/news/mystery-in-the-mountains-rita-currans-murder-is-burlington-vermonts-oldest-cold-case/

4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/63033862/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/464318971/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/663517823/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/610589637/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/610589661/

9. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199886926/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

10. https://www.newspapers.com/image/63034258/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

11. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199888049/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

12. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199888508/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

13. https://www.newspapers.com/image/548153950/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

14. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199889321/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

15. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199890893/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

16. https://www.newspapers.com/image/610590198/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

17. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199893398/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

18. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199874125/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

19. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79371445/bundy-rita-curran-6/

20. https://www.newspapers.com/image/200336836/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/200253862/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

22. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199818572/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

23. https://www.newspapers.com/image/200255617/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

24. https://www.newspapers.com/image/199648191/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

25. https://www.newspapers.com/image/428506454/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1

26. https://www.newspapers.com/image/203043673/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1 

27. https://www.newspapers.com/image/750203925/?terms=rita%20curran&match=1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/750203923/

28. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1607/images/31394_203994-02872?treeid=&personid=&rc=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=fLm25&_phstart=successSource&pId=136770

29. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/22/cold-case-solved-dna-cigarette-rita-curran/11320406002/

30. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/23/vermont-rita-curran-murder-police-dna-cigarette

31. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/22/us/rita-curran-burlington-vermont-cold-case/index.html

32. https://www.newsweek.com/cigarette-butt-solves-rita-curran-cold-case-murder-1783037

33. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/murder-rita-curran-william-deroos-solved-after-52-years-dna-cigarette-butt/

34. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rita-curran-cold-case-murder-solved-william-deroos_n_63f6200ee4b0e2590d40a2d4

35. https://www.wcax.com/2023/02/21/watch-live-police-expected-reveal-suspect-50-year-old-burlington-murder-case/

36. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/22/rita-curran-dna-murder-william-deroos/

37. https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/61/2023/02/Rita-Curran-Murder-Trieb-Final-Report.pdf 

    Social Media Video Sources:

    1. https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/rita-curran

    2. https://christianchronicle.org/

    3. https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/

    4. https://scallywagandvagabond.com/

    5. https://people.com/

    6. https://www.wkms.org/

    7. www.dailymail.co.uk/

    8. https://paulickreport.com/

    9. https://www.accessonline.com/

    10. https://truecrimedaily.com/

    11. https://www.kentuckynewera.com/

    12. https://www.theleafchronicle.com