The Howard County Police Department solved its second-oldest cold case, giving closure to the family of Roseann Sturtz nearly 50 years after she was murdered in 1975.

Sturtz was reported missing on Aug. 24, 1975. Months later, police found the 20-year-old woman’s body in a wooded area off Route 108 in Columbia on Dec. 15, 1975.

Police and other county officials announced on Tuesday that Charles William Davis Jr., who is currently serving three life sentences in prison for other murders, was her killer.

“It’s a great honor when you have that opportunity to make that phone call to that family,” said Cpl. Wade Zufall, who began pursuing this case in 2022, in a news conference. “One of the things I told the sisters yesterday, I said, if there’s a such thing as closure, I hope I was able to provide them with that.”

Last year, police found the tape from a 1981 interview between Davis and detectives. In the 1981 audio recording, which police shared bits of in a video, Davis did not recognize Sturtz from her high school photo.

In 2024, Zufall reinterviewed Davis and showed him a different photo of 20-year-old Sturtz from July 1975, a month before she was reported missing. Davis recognized her and confessed to the murder.

Zufall said in a news conference Tuesday Davis told him he met Sturtz at a local bar, they left together, got into an argument and began fighting. According to Zufall, Davis strangled Sturtz.

Davis, who has been incarcerated at Jessup Correctional Institution since 1978, will not face charges for Sturtz’ death. In addition to the recorded interview with Davis, in 2024, detectives also found a 1981 letter from then-Howard County State’s Attorney William R. Hymes that granted him transactional immunity.

This meant Davis would not be prosecuted for crimes related to Sturtz’s death if he fully cooperated with police and provided them information he knew about the case, according to current Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson, who upheld the immunity. According to Zufall, being able to give Sturtz’s family closure was what made Davis want to talk to him.

“This moment is not just about solving a case, it’s about honoring Ann’s life, providing her family with long overdue answers and seeking justice no matter how much time has passed,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at Tuesday’s news conference. “This case is a testament to the power of persistence through investigative work.”

Ball said solving cold cases is a priority for him and Police Chief Gregory Der, citing expansion of the Police Department’s cold case unit and increasing the reward for cold case information to $30,000. He acknowledged, though, that there are still 24 homicide cold cases in Howard County.

“That means 24 families are still waiting for justice. Let today serve as a message to them: We will not stop searching for answers,” Ball said.

Sturtz’s four sisters, who were not at Tuesday’s news conference, expressed gratitude for the case’s closure.

“Today, in March 2025, we are grateful to have the closure that we have been praying for since 1975,” the family said in a statement that was read at the news conference.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct William R. Hymes’ middle initial.