Jane Durrua
Thirteen-year-old Jane Durrua was abducted and murdered in Rahway, New Jersey. Robert Zarinsky was convicted of her murder in 2001 using genetic evidence, 33 years after the crime. He was also linked to additional murders. The case was an early example of cold-case DNA exoneration methodology.
Jane Durrua is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a homicide case in Rahway, New Jersey. The events are dated to October 28, 1968. The victim is recorded as 13 years old and female. The last known information on record places the case at October 28, 1968, her school in Rahway, NJ.
Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, Jane Durrua is filed under Homicide with a status of Conviction. A homicide entry documents a killing in which the perpetrator has not been identified, has not been convicted, or where the case is otherwise historically notable. The record is cross-referenced under the themes homicide, child, New Jersey, conviction, cold case DNA, which connect it to related cases across the database.
The Jane Durrua case ended in a criminal conviction. It is retained in this index as a historically significant case — one whose investigation, prosecution, or aftermath shaped forensic practice, criminal law, or the public understanding of violent crime.
Primary jurisdiction for the Jane Durrua case rests with local law enforcement in Rahway, supported by New Jersey state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.
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Have Information About This Case?
Cold cases are solved when someone comes forward. Even a detail that seems minor can matter. If you have any information about this case, contact law enforcement through one of these channels:
- FBI Tips (tips.fbi.gov) — submit a tip online to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
- The local police department or sheriff's office in New Jersey, or the state bureau of investigation
Tips can usually be submitted anonymously. To report an error on this page, email info@coldcaseindex.com.