On December 21, 1992, four days before Christmas, 25-year-old sixth-grade teacher Christy Mirack was beaten and strangled inside her townhouse in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She never made it to school that morning. Her principal found her body after she didn't show up. Wrapped Christmas presents for her students were scattered on the floor beside her.

Investigators collected DNA from the crime scene and launched one of the largest investigations in Lancaster County history. More than 1,500 interviews. More than 60 men tested. The FBI built a behavioral profile. Every lead went cold.

For 26 years, the killer walked free while Christy's family fought to keep her case alive. Her mother died without ever seeing justice. Her brother Vince put up billboards, created Facebook pages, and made a deathbed promise to his mother to never let go.

Then, in 2018, a new kind of science changed everything. Parabon NanoLabs and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore uploaded the crime-scene DNA to a public genealogy database and traced it back through a family tree to one man: Raymond "DJ Freez" Rowe, one of the most popular party DJs in central Pennsylvania. He had performed at weddings, proms, and school dances across the region for decades. He had organized anti-violence rallies. He had posted photos with celebrities.

Undercover investigators collected his DNA from a water bottle he discarded while DJing a sixth-grade school dance. The match was conclusive. One in 200 octillion.

Rowe pleaded guilty in January 2019 and was sentenced to life without parole. The killer had been hiding in plain sight the entire time. This is the full story.

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CASE DETAILS:
Victim: Christy Ann Mirack (1967–1992)
Location: East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Date of Crime: December 21, 1992
Years Cold: 26
Solved: 2018 (Genetic Genealogy / Parabon NanoLabs)
Perpetrator: Raymond Charles Rowe, aka "DJ Freez"
Outcome: Guilty plea, life without parole + 60–120 years (January 2019)

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SOURCES & REFERENCES:

Lancaster County DA's Office — Arrest Announcement (June 25, 2018):
https://lancastercountypa.gov/CivicAl...

Lancaster County DA's Office — Guilty Plea Announcement (January 8, 2019):
https://crimewatch.net/us/pa/lancaste...

Lancaster County DA's Office — Post-Conviction Petition Denied (April 2022):
https://crimewatch.net/us/pa/lancaste...

ABC News — DJ Admits to Cold Case Murder (January 9, 2019):
https://abcnews.com/US/dj-admits-cold...

ABC News — How DNA and Genetic Genealogy Led to a Wedding DJ (October 5, 2018):
https://abcnews.com/US/dna-genetic-ge...

LancasterOnline — Murder Mystery: Christy Mirack (From the Archives, Originally 1993):
https://lancasteronline.com/murder-my...

LancasterOnline — Appeals Court Ordered to Reconsider DJ Freez DNA Testing Bid (August 2025):
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...

LancasterOnline — Behind the Science: DNA Analysis That Led to Rowe (June 2018):
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...

CNN — Genetic Genealogy: How Amateurs Changed the Way Cops Solve Cold Cases (2019):
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/health...

Lancaster County Crime Stoppers — Case File: Christy Ann Mirack:
https://crimewatch.net/us/pa/lancaste...

Oxygen / Dateline: Secrets Uncovered — Did DJ Kill Teacher Christy Mirack? (2023):
https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-secre...

Parabon NanoLabs & CeCe Moore — Local 21 Interview on Lancaster Cold Cases (2021):
https://local21news.com/news/local/ge...