Woman was raped, killed more than 45 years ago, Maryland cops say. Now, NC man charged
An 82-year-old man from North Carolina is charged in the death of a Virginia woman whose body was found in a parking lot more than 45 years ago, police said.
Rodger Brown, from Pinehurst, was identified as the suspect in the 1979 rape and murder of Kathryn Donohue who was 31-years-old at the time, Prince George’s County police in Maryland said in a March 18 news release.
According to police, someone found Donohue’s body in March 1979, while walking through a parking lot.
Officers responded at the time, but the case remained a mystery for decades until a 2024 DNA analysis which identified a relative of the unknown suspect, police said.
This led to the identification of Brown, who was living in Hyattsville when police said the killing happened.
Brown was arrested in North Carolina and will be sent to Prince George’s County, authorities said.
In a statement shared by the police department on X, formerly known as Twitter, Donohue’s family said the arrest had given them “a sense of closure” that they “never thought possible after all this time.”
“The entire Donohue family would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone involved in this investigation, especially the men and women of the Prince George’s County Police Department, for their tireless efforts and unwavering dedication to seek justice,” the family said.
Pinehurst is about a 100-mile drive east from Charlotte.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Woman was raped, killed more than 45 years ago, Maryland cops say. Now, NC man charged."
