New Jersey police identify man found shot in shallow grave in 1979
After 47 years, New Jersey State Police finally put a name to a shallow-grave homicide victim: Robert Dean Irelan. Investigators are now asking for tips on the 1979 killing.
A man buried in a shallow grave off a dirt road in Salem County has finally been identified, nearly five decades after he was found with a gunshot wound to the head. New Jersey State Police say the victim is Robert Dean Irelan, a Pleasantville man who was also known to spend time in Atlantic City.
The body was discovered on June 2, 1979, in a wooded area near Jericho Road in Quinton Township. Investigators believe Irelan died during the winter of 1978-1979, and the homicide has remained unsolved ever since. The case, long carried as an unidentified-persons file, was reopened by the NJSP Cold Case Unit in March 2023 and later worked through with the Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center.
When Irelan was found, police said he was wearing white painter pants, black Pro-Keds sneakers, a plaid cotton shirt, a heavy black-and-white pullover sweater, and a dark-blue waist-length Lee wool jacket. The jacket had a gold-plated “R” on the right pocket flap and a small gold-plated cross on the left pocket flap. State police describe Irelan as a white male, about 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9, weighing 140 to 160 pounds, with an estimated birth year of 1961 to 1963.
The state police unidentified-persons file for the case lists the number H207923 and the NIC number U640765261. It also notes that a full dental chart, partial fingerprint, and facial reconstruction are available for comparison. Those records, combined with investigative genetic genealogy, finally gave detectives the break they needed to match the remains to Irelan.
With the identification now public, investigators are pressing for new information about the killing itself. The New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit is asking anyone who knew Robert Dean Irelan, saw him in the months before his death, or has any information about the homicide to contact investigators or submit an anonymous tip. After 47 years as John Doe, the case now has a name, and police are treating that name as the start of a fresh push for answers.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
