Who Was James Richard Clark Sr? Man Linked With Pittsburgh Serial Killings
Summary
Pennsylvania State Police said DNA testing identified James Richard Clark Sr., a long-haul truck driver who died in 2023, as the suspect in the 1976 and 1977 murders of Susan Rush and Brenda Ritter in Washington County. Police said evidence linked the same offender to both killings and that further testing could reveal whether Clark was connected to other cases.Key Facts
- Rush disappeared on November 24, 1976, after leaving her job in Washington County; her body was found in the trunk of her car.
- Eighteen-year-old Ritter disappeared in May 1977, and her body was later found on a hillside near Roupe Road.
- Police said both women were raped and strangled.
- Investigators sent evidence from both cases for DNA testing in 2008.
- Additional testing, enabled by newer technology and funding in May 2025, linked the same offender to both murders.
- Further DNA testing identified Clark as the suspect; he was 19 when Rush was killed and 20 when Ritter was killed.
- Police said Clark died of natural causes in July 2023 and had not previously been considered a suspect.
- Rush and Ritter were two of five young women and girls murdered in the Pittsburgh area between November 1976 and June 1977; the article says the other three cases had separate outcomes, including one that remains unsolved.
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